There wasn't too much revelry in the war-torn world of the 1940's. Therefore the few enjoyable moments of that era tend to remain with us as precious memories. One such moment came to mind recently when I attended a 50th anniversary homecoming at the University of Manitoba. It so happened that the guest speaker for the event was Monty Hall, who was a principal in the story that I recall and related to him. He recollected it and we both enjoyed a chuckle.

The story is about a skit that was conceived by Monty. The university had an annual event called Varsity Varieties in which each faculty put on a skit before a live audience. About two weeks before the event, Monty, a science student, discovered that our faculty had not yet come up with a skit. Monty, who had already established a reputation on campus as an entertainer, hastily put something together. Because there was no time for an elaborate stage set and all the paraphernalia that goes with stage productions, it was a simple format. The action was in front of the curtain. The scene was supposed to be a city street with a sidewalk interviewer asking questions of pedestrians as they passed by one by one. Monty was the interviewer with a microphone in his hand. One of the characters to be interviewed was a student by the name of Hank. As Hank walked across the stage, Monty approached him.

The conversation went like this.

"Sir, we are conducting a sidewalk survey and we would like to know what you think of the world situation."

Then Monty would thrust the microphone under Hank's nose. The response was supposed to be a loud belch. Hank had been chosen for this role because he had a reputation as one of the best belchers on campus. To help the situation, and to ensure that he would belch on cue, we fed him a bottle of Coke which he was to swallow in one gulp. There wasn't much time for rehearsals, but at the few we had, the routine worked perfectly every time. After the question, "What do you think of the world situation?" Hank would open his mouth from which would emerge a powerful burp.

On the night of the performance, there was a full house. Everything was going like clockwork. Each character in our skit walked across the stage answering the questions put by Monty. Answers were designed to produce laughs from the audience. Then along came Hank. Monty approached him.

"Sir, what do you think of the world situation?" He thrust the microphone under Hank's nose. Hank opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Monty repeated the question, but to no avail. You never saw such an agonized look on anyone's face as on poor Hank's as he scuttled off the stage amid titters from the audience.

Monty, with the instinct of the true entertainer, attempted to save the situation with a one-liner joke. At that moment, from the wings came the loudest, most splendid and most superb series of belches ever heard. The audience roared, clapped their hands, stamped their feet in enthusiastic appreciation, and called for encores. It was Hank's finest hour.

That miscue provided a far better ending than would have been the case had the skit been played as rehearsed.