As Chung Ling Soo, Robinson maintained his role as a Chinese man scrupulously. He never spoke onstage, claiming that he spoke no English (though he did occasionally say phrases in broken English) and always used an interpreter when he spoke to journalists. Soo's Chinese wife, "Suee Seen", acted as his assistant. "Suee Seen" was also Robinson's invention; in reality, she was Olive "Dot" Path, an American woman who Robinson claimed was his wife. In fact, the two never married, as Robinson had never divorced his first wife, Bessie Smith.