In the 1940s Executor continued to perform in calypso tents, but less frequently since his popularity and health were both waning. In 1947, he became involved in a lawsuit over the authorship of "Rum and Coca-Cola", a calypso which provided a big hit for the Andrews Sisters and a major financial boost to Decca Records in 1945. Lionel Belasco sued on the grounds that he had written the song in 1906, and in order to rebut this claim, a statement from Executor was produced to the effect that he had already known the melody back in 1893. Gerald Clark, a New York-based Trinidadian bandleader whose "Caribbean Serenaders" accompanied many great calypso recordings, was called by Belasco's lawyers to attest to the unreliability of Executor’s testimony. Clark said that Executor was a "bum", "incoherent" and that he begged for a living – "I was glad to give him a dollar and get rid of him", Clark said.Hill 1996: 98. Although this suited Belasco's case, Executor was indeed in serious decline by this time, but did still manage to sing in calypso tents in both 1948 and 1949, on the latter occasion to celebrate his 50th year as a calypsonian.
