Al Wheatley

Al Wheatley
Cover of Genii as Chop Chop with Ted Lewis (1959)
Born	Arthur Henry Wheatley March 26, 1901 Sidney, Australia
Died	November 12, 1964 (age 63) Coast of Indonesia, at Suva, Fiji Islands
Resting place	Buried at sea

Al Wheatley (b.1901-d.1964) was an Australian-born magician who performed as an Oriental named Chop Chop.

Biography

Wheatley worked for a few years as Jean Hugard's assistant, before becoming an expert "Chinese" magician.

In the early 40's, Al used the stage name Ching Ling Fu and later Ting Pin Soo, however, in the 50's he changed his name to Chop Chop and his act became Chop Chop and Chalene. They played up scale clubs such as The Empire Room of the Palmer House in Chicago and the Moulin Rouge in Los Angeles.

He appeared many times on American TV, including an appearance on Ed Sullivan Show.

He is acknowledged to have popularized the Chop Cup sometime in the mid 1950's, so the gimmicked cups were named after him.

References

• The Jinx, Issue 21, June 1936, SALEM YOUTH MAKES HIGH PLACE IN MAGICIANS' HALL OF FAME, page 120
• Cover The Sphinx, Vol. 42, No. 6, August 1943, Cover, about Arthur H. Wheatley, “Tung Pin Soo”, page 116
• Cover Genii Magazine, Vol. 19, No. 10, June 1955, Chop Chop & Charlene, “Tung Pin Soo”, page 344
• Cover Genii 1959 September
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 44, No. 12, December 1964, Broken Wand, AL WHEATLEY (CHOP CHOP), page 138
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 45, No. 1, January 1965, A. Renerick Clark Tells About Al Wheatley, page 98
• The New Tops, Vol. 5, No. 1, January 1965, Chop Chop, The Al Wheathley I Know, by Jay Marshall, page 4
• M-U-M, Vol. 54, No. 8, January 1965, Broken Wands, Al Wheathley by Kay Muse, page 404
• http://www.themagicmuseum.com/