HollywoodNews.com: The dog days of summer are the best time of the year for movie fans as they turn on the air conditioning and park themselves on the couch for the latest edition of Turner Classic Movies’ (TCM) ultimate movie star showcase: SUMMER UNDER THE STARS.

Now in its eighth year, the August festival dedicates each of its 31 days to one of Hollywood’s most enduring actors and actresses. This year’s roster is set to include such stars as Steve McQueen (Aug. 3), Ingrid Bergman (Aug. 6), Errol Flynn (Aug. 7), Bob Hope (Aug. 8), Walter Matthau (Aug. 11), Maureen O’Hara (on her 90th birthday, Aug. 17), Katharine Hepburn (Aug. 20), Paul Newman (Aug. 21), Lauren Bacall (Aug. 25), Olivia de Havilland (Aug. 27), Peter O’Toole (Aug. 28), Henry Fonda (Aug. 29) and Clint Eastwood (Aug. 31). Assembled from the network’s library of more than 5,000 films, this one-of-a-kind festival is an opportunity for viewers to enjoy a varied selection from each star’s body of work, uncut and commercial free.

Fourteen of the month’s actors and actresses featured in this year’s SUMMER UNDER THE STARS are first-timers to the festival. The memorable performers include five Oscar® winners: Julie Christie (Aug. 2), Ethel Barrymore (Aug. 4), Warren Beatty (Aug. 9), Margaret O’Brien (Aug. 15) and John Mills (Aug. 22). Other stars getting their first showcases include Woody Strode (Aug. 5), Kathryn Grayson (Aug. 10), Gene Tierney (Aug. 14), Robert Stack (Aug. 16), Ann Sheridan (Aug. 18), Walter Pidgeon (Aug. 19), John Gilbert (Aug. 24), Lee Remick (Aug. 26) and Thelma Todd (Aug. 30).

This year’s SUMMER UNDER THE STARS also features 53 films making their first appearances on TCM during the festival, including I Was Monty’s Double (1958), starring John Mills and M.E. Clifton-James, who really was General Montgomery’s double during World War II; Richard Lester’s decade-defining film Petulia (1968), with Julie Christie and George C. Scott; the film adaptation of Joe Orton’s frantic play Loot (1970) and the concert-piano drama The Competition (1980), both starring Lee Remick; Richard Rush’s incisive black comedy The Stunt Man (1980), with Peter O’Toole in a brilliant performance; an extensive collection of early comedies featuring Thelma Todd; and the Hope-and-Crosby-style comedy Ishtar (1987), with Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman.

TCM’s popular franchises THE ESSENTIALS, co-hosted by TCM’s Robert Osborne and Emmy®-winning actor Alec Baldwin, and THE ESSENTIALS JR., hosted by Emmy winner John Lithgow, will continue throughout SUMMER UNDER THE STARS.

Saturdays at 8 p.m. (ET), THE ESSENTIALS offerings include The Sea Hawk (1940 – Aug. 7), Leave Her to Heaven (1945 – Aug. 14), The Sting (1973 – Aug. 21) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962 – Aug. 28).

Sundays at 8 p.m. (ET), THE ESSENTIALS JR. will feature The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939 – Aug. 1), Road to Morocco (1942 – Aug. 8), The Secret Garden (1929 – Aug. 15), Swiss Family Robinson (Aug. 22) and Young Mr. Lincoln (Aug. 29).

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Cicely Tyson is the latest woman to join the list of honorees for the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon that takes place on Thursday, March 4 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Tyson will receive the Legend Award at the event and joins other honorees Queen Latifah, Zoe Saldana, Mary J. Blige, and Gabourey Sidibe.

Tyson has become one of America’s most respected performers making her way from model to actress and has appeared with actors George C. Scott, James Earl Jones, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bill Cosby, and Laurence Fishburne among others.

ESSENCE editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray said, “The ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon will pay homage to the outstanding work and contributions of Ms. Tyson. She is a Legend because she continues in her craft with passion and integrity – an accomplishment to which we all aspire.”