Bethesda misses the boat on return of Tommy the Matchmaker to site of Yacht Club

"Missed it by that much." That's what singles 35 and older, and those with nostalgia for the boom times of the legendary Yacht Club of Bethesda, may be saying when they learn the club's famous captain - Tommy "the Matchmaker" Curtis - almost made a triumphant return to that spot for New Year's Eve.

A source reports that The Bethesdan Hotel and Curtis were in negotiations for a New Year's Eve hosting appearance in the totally-renovated hotel's ballroom, but ultimately could not come to terms on the compensation. The Bethesdan was the Bethesda Holiday Inn in the late 20th century, when Curtis and the Yacht Club had their massively-successful run in the lower level of the hotel. It is estimated that over 200 couples married after being matched at the Yacht Club over the years.

Signage referring to the Yacht Club
remained in the hotel decades after the
legendary nightclub closed

Asked for comment, Curtis said the negotiations were amicable, and he didn't rule out the possibility of an appearance at the hotel in the future. "Cupid doesn’t come cheap and we couldn’t come to an agreement on my compensation," Curtis quipped. "Negotiations were actually congenial at the highest level and we left the door open for some deal in the future."

The missed opportunity hasn't left Curtis idle. He is still busy commuting between the D.C. area and Hollywood in what has been a longtime career in the movie business. His latest effort will be a documentary with a high-profile public personality as its subject, a project he inherited from his late uncle, Robert Cohn. Working with him on the movie is his producer brother Bruce Cohn Curtis.

In addition to his own resume of films he had a hand in, ranging from Hell Night with Linda Blair to Dreamscape to The Seduction, Curtis' great uncle and grandfather founded Columbia Pictures. Assisting the deal for the documentary on this side of the country is former D.C. Councilman and Manatt Phelps senior partner John Ray.

Could the Yacht Club sail once again? After all, its former space in the Bethesdan remains vacant, and nightlife in Bethesda has collapsed since Curtis and his contemporaries ruled the scene.

“I constantly receive inquiries from developers and the like regarding a new Yacht Club, and may even consider an opportunity in Georgetown," Curtis confided. "Of course, I could come back to Bethesda, the area that Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row has said is so in need of nightlife,” he added.