Special to ViewDavid London, self-proclaimed "captain of the SS Romance," created the CD "Here?s to Romance" in honor of his "last mate" and love Alma Davies.
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David London lounges next to Alma Davies on her hospital bed at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. From their body language alone, one can see that the couple, both 81, are very much in love. Even in the sterile surroundings of the hospital room, they are striking figures. Davies is dressed in an exquisite silk robe, a rich red covered with intricate patterns. London wears his ubiquitous captain's hat.
"I started wearing it when I was losing my hair," he explains.
"Now there are people who wouldn't recognize him without it," Davies said.
The two, who are both southeast residents, have been together for just five years, but they seem inseparable. London, a lifelong performer and producer, recently released a CD of original songs, "Here's to Romance." Several of the songs were inspired by his love, Davies.
"It has the best musicians in Vegas on it," Davies said. On the CD, London calls himself "The Captain of the SS Romance." He calls Davies his last mate.
It was not love at first sight. When they first met, Davies was at an event with one of London's former clients. "She (the client) called me over to impress her (Davies), that she knew someone who had been in Vegas producing shows and doing what I had done," London said.
London found Davies beautiful, but meeting her with the former client put him off. Still, she asked for his card, as they were in the same business. Davies also writes and has produced shows. Ten days later, she left a message on his answering machine.
"It was the first time in my life that I elected not to return a call," London said. "I wasn't ready and I didn't want to get involved with anyone."
Ten months later, they bumped into one another once again, this time at a Labor Day party.
"She brought a piece of her work, which was extraordinary," London said. They played it over the speakers at the party, Davies said, "a song I wrote called 'You'll Never Forget.' He was blown away by it."
Davies called again asking for help with a piece she was working on. For a time, they had a purely professional relationship. Soon, they discovered that they had much in common. In fact, they had both lived on the same street in New York City, but at different times. They both loved the same music, and they both loved to dance.
"We found that we'd both taught ballroom dancing at Fred Astaire's at different times in New York," Davies said, "so I suggested we go dancing for exercise, thinking 'this is perfect, no strings attached.' "
"Well, the first thing she said to me is, 'there's no room in my life right now for romance,' and I had just ended trying to find someone," London said. "I had just spent three years seeing if I could meet a lady and I had made up my mind that I wasn't going to do that."
"He was through ... and I was through," Davies said.
They went dancing several times a week for over a month. Then one night, fate stepped in. "We were dancing one night at the Stardust," London said, "and her hand went to the nape of my neck."
"By accident," Davies insisted.
"By accident, I suppose," London said. "I just about went through the ceiling. She said, 'are you feeling what I'm feeling,' and I said, 'I had no idea you were feeling anything.' "
Until that point, London claims that Davies hadn't shown any interest in romance with him. "I told her we didn't have to do anything about it, and she said, 'Well why not?' "
"From that moment, we couldn't keep our hands off each other," Davies said.
"It's been five years and she's the love of my life," London said. "We feel very, very ..."
"Fortunate," Davies finished.
London grinned and continued, "that each of us has found someone we care about."
They've each found their soulmate after what anyone would consider a very full life. London spent 40 years performing, writing and teaching as a voice coach in Las Vegas. He spent time in Hollywood, appearing in a number of films, including "The Song of Bernadette" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy." He said he coached Marilyn Monroe the day before her first film audition, coaching her with, of all things, the song "Happy Birthday."
London spent eight years on Broadway, performing in such hit musicals as "Carousel," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "The Music Man." He arrived in New York at just about the same time Davies was stepping out of the limelight to raise a family.
Davies indicated a black and white photo of a beautiful young woman in a flamenco costume. She said the photo was of her when she was a Spanish dancing star in New York. She said she performed at Radio City Music Hall, on NBC and on "The Voice of Firestone."
Davies said she performed classical and flamenco dancing under the stage name Alma Rosita.
London pointed out yet another coincidence. When he was a young man, long before they met, he penned a song called "Spanish Rose."
They still work, write and sing together, although Davies did not perform on the new CD, unless one credits her as "muse." The CD is literally a labor of love. Espousing London's belief that the world really needs more romance, it features arrangements and keyboard by Vincent Falcone, who was Frank Sinatra's conductor.
"A wonderful man," London said. "We were working on it, and he said, 'I hate to see this end, I'm having a good time, the musicians are having a good time.' "
The CD was released at a party in October at Carluccio's Tivoli Gardens, the restaurant attached to the Liberace Museum, 1775 E. Tropicana Ave., formerly owned by Mr. Showmanship himself.
"He was a great friend," London said of Liberace. "In 1955, I opened the Riviera as his lead singer.
"I got a hunk of everything I wanted," he said. "Sammy (Davis) was a friend of mine, he was a wonderful man. I never achieved the stature and celebrity that he did, or Dean Martin, or any of the other people that I knew in my time, but I'm having a very wonderful life because I got to do want I wanted all of my life."
The Captain of the SS Romance and his last mate are in dry dock for now.
"Her lymphoma has returned," London said. "It's non-Hodgkin's, but ..."
"But I'm in remission now," Davies said cheerfully.
"We need to get rid of her pneumonia and get her well. Somewhere down the line, she's going to need a heart operation because she has a valve problem. When she is well and strong, we'll go on a cruise again. In the meantime, we have each other, and I have a friend that makes me want to be here," London said.
For more information about the album, visit www.herestoromance.com.
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