My Thursday column is dedicated to appearing in a new one-man play I penned about the life and career of infamous Hearst newspaper gossip columnist and radio personality Walter Winchell.

“Winchell: On the Air” is a 75-minute “in person” production that includes a multimedia element for audiences when it premieres with two performances on June 10 in the ballroom at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster.

Winchell, who died at 74 in 1972, was hailed as one of the most powerful and influential journalists from the 1920s through the 1950s with his radio shows broadcast on ABC, and his columns published in his flagship newspaper The New York Daily Mirror and read throughout the country distributed by Hearst King Features Newspapers Syndicate. With his combined syndicated newspaper circulation and radio listenership, Winchell was heard and/or read by more than 60 million people — or about two of every three people of the U.S. population in 1948. Winchell and his gossip columnist contemporaries of the day were “influencers” long before the social media of today.

With my own history as a journalist for three decades, with 20 of those years as a columnist, I also host “Of Notoriety,” a weekly radio show named for my Chicago Tribune Media columns, which is broadcast on WJOB in Hammond. I’ve spent more than 20 years researching Winchell, his impact and his legacy and continued influence on today’s media. He’s a frequent and controversial figure in the textbooks I use for the mass media courses I’ve taught over the past 25-plus years at Valparaiso University and Purdue University Northwest.

In addition to watching and listening to recordings of Winchell’s broadcasts, I’ve collected more than 200 preserved original clippings of Winchell’s newspaper columns, as well as rare photos, personal correspondence and other items related to the columnist, which I used to pen this new play, “Winchell: On the Air.”

The 70-minute performance includes Winchell’s early roots and interest in journalism; and his famous feuds with Ed Sullivan, talk show host Jack Parr and rival columnists such as Hearst colleagues Elsa Maxwell and West Coast counterparts, Louella Parsons, and her arch nemesis, Los Angeles Times columnist Hedda Hopper. In addition to his friendship and networking with President FDR and FBI head J. Edgar Hoover, Winchell’s anti-communist platform allied him with Sen. Joseph McCarthy in his final decades, which began the ultimate downward spiral of his career.

When researching for the show, I included fun gossip and entertainment tidbits directly from WW’s columns, such as revelations that oftentimes not only surprised readers but also the famous names themselves. For instance, Lucille Ball learned she was expecting a baby by reading it in Winchell’s column — but wasn’t notified by her own doctor until the following day.

Authentic costuming for this production was easy, since I own one of Winchell’s personally owned signature fedoras, which I purchased at an auction years ago. I wore the hat in the 2008 Universal Pictures film “Public Enemies” starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, when director Michael Mann cast me as a 1930s reporter who interviews Dillinger in a jailhouse scene.

Performances of “Winchell: On the Air” are paired with a custom-themed-menu dinner dreamed up by Chef Joe Trama with vintage recipes from my “From the Farm” cookbooks. The ballroom will be transformed into a replica of the famed New York Stork Club, where booth No. 50 was always reserved as Winchell’s roost, with fellow Hearst New York gossip columnist colleague Dorothy Kilgallen often at her own table across the room.

An exhibit of Winchell’s hat, cufflinks, correspondence and rare photos will accompany the show experience. Chef Joe’s dinner show menu features the Plaza Hotel’s Cream of Potato and Watercress Soup, Walter’s favorite Stork Club Chicken Croquette with Béarnaise Sauce served with Swirled Sweet and White Mashed Potatoes and Spring Garden Sweet Peas, and, for dessert, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel’s signature Red Velvet Cake.

For the matinee performance, doors open at 11:30 a.m. with lunch served at noon and 1 p.m. show. Evening performance has doors open at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. show. Tickets for both performances, which includes meal and show, are $50 plus tax. Call 219-836-1930 for tickets or visit www.cvpa.org. The Post-Tribune graciously served as the media sponsor for this event.

Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org.