Martin Lewis

No, not Dean and Jerry (although there should be a place for them in Knickerbocker Village 50's nostalgia, except I never found Jerry Lewis funny). Martin Lewis was also an artist:

Martin Lewis (1881-1962) was born in Australia and left home at the age of 15. He studied with Julian Ashton at the Art Society's School in Sydney. In 1990, he left Australia for United States. Little is know about his early days in the USA, besides that his first job was painting stage decorations for William McKinley's presidential campaign of 1900. His earliest etching is dated 1915, however, the level of skill that he demonstrates shows that he had been working in the medium for some time before that. In 1920, he decided to travel to Japan where for eight months he learned oil and watercolor painting. In 1925, he returned to etching and produced most of his known works between 1925 and 1935, including a series on Japan and New York, his place of residence in New York.

Somehow I came across his work while (as usual) searching for something else. I used them as a backdrop for Hal Kemp's "Got A Date With An Angel." Skinnay Ennis was the vocalist. I remember recording this as a duet with my father on our Wollensak tape recorder.

Climbing up the latter of love
To find the one who waits for me
Got a date with an angel,
Got to meet her at seven
Got a date with an angel,
And Im on my way to heaven.
Shes so lovely beside me,
And whatever betide me,
Got an angel to guide me,
So Im on my way to heaven.
Soon Ill hear bells ring out,
And the choir will sing out,
When the pearly gates swing out
Shell becon to me.
Ive been waiting a life time,
For this evening at seven,
Got a date with an angel,
And Im on my way to heaven.