Once again TCM presents its unique and much-loved tradition Summer Under the Stars, wherein each day of the month is devoted to a full 24 hours of films featuring a single outstanding actor or actress. Returning favorites include June Allyson, Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Kirk Douglas, Irene Dunne, Errol Flynn, Henry Fonda, Ava Gardner, Susan Hayward, Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, Red Skelton, Ann Sothern and James Stewart.

We are also spotlighting a dozen stars who are newcomers to this year's programming. Here's a spotlight on that group:

Friday, August 2 - Ruth Hussey (1911-2005) is the winner of the TCM Backlot member vote that cast Hussey against Ruth Roman for the day's lineup. Hussey had a career at MGM as a leading lady of B movies before graduating to A productions in 1940. She is best remembered for her Oscar-nominated supporting role as the magazine photographer and friend of Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story (1940). Other noteworthy films include H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), The Uninvited (1944) and The Facts of Life (1960).

Sunday, August 4 - Shirley Temple (1928-2014), as a child, was the No. 1 Hollywood box-office draw from 1935 to 1938 in such films as Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938). She continued making films through 1949 and later enjoyed careers as television hostess and diplomat. Among her films as a young adult are The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) alongside Myrna Loy and Cary Grant and Fort Apache (1948).

Monday, August 5 - Melvyn Douglas (1901-1981) was a romantic leading man of the 1930s, notably in Ninotchka (1939) opposite Greta Garbo. Later he developed into a powerful character actor whose memorable performances include those in I Never Sang for My Father (1970) and Being There (1979), which brought him one of his two Oscars as Best Supporting Actor.

Saturday, August 10 - Rita Moreno (born 1931) has enjoyed a career that spans more than 70 years and practically every medium of entertainment. Her collection of major awards includes an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story (1961). Other notable films include Carnal Knowledge (1971) and The Ritz (1976), in which she recreated her Tony-winning stage role.

Tuesday, August 13 - Brian Donlevy (1901-1972) specialized in tough-guy roles in a movie career spanning five decades. He was Oscar-nominated as Best Supporting Actor for Beau Geste (1939) and played the lead in the Preston Sturges comedy The Great McGinty (1940). Donlevy is also remembered for his roles in such film noir classics as The Glass Key (1942) and Impact (1949).

Wednesday, August 14 - Liv Ullmann (born 1938) gained acclaim in the films of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, including Persona (1966) and Hour of the Wolf (1968). Also famous for her work on the stage, she starred in several Hollywood films including Lost Horizon (1973). She was Oscar-nominated for the Swedish film The Emigrants (1971) and starred opposite Ingrid Bergman in Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata (1978).

Thursday, August 15 - Rod Steiger (1925-2002) was noted for playing edgy, offbeat characters such as the Southern police chief of In the Heat of the Night (1967) who is forced to rise above his prejudices. That one earned him a Best Actor Oscar, and other remarkable performances include those in The Harder They Fall (1956) alongside Humphrey Bogart and The Sergeant (1968). The Method-trained actor also distinguished himself in the theater and on television.

Tuesday, August 20 - Dorothy McGuire (1916-2001) was a popular leading lady of the 1940s and '50s in such vehicles as The Enchanted Cottage (1945), Gentleman's Agreement (1947, Oscar nomination as Best Actress) and Trial (1955). Later, her warmth and sensitivity made her an effective mother figure in such films as Friendly Persuasion (1956) and A Summer Place (1959).

Thursday, August 22 - Leila Hyams (1905-1977) was a pretty blonde who had early experience in vaudeville before playing more than 50 film roles in the 1920s and '30s. She had a breakthrough role in The Thirteenth Chair (1929) and supported Jean Harlow in Red-Headed Woman (1932). Today she is best remembered for her roles in two 1932 horror films, Freaks and Island of Lost Souls.

Sunday, August 25 - Dustin Hoffman (born 1937) is considered to be among the most talented and accomplished of contemporary actors, with two Best Actor Oscars from seven nominations. His first nominations came for his breakthrough films The Graduate (1967) and Midnight Cowboy (1969), and his Oscars wins came from Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988). Hoffman played the lead onstage and in a television version of Death of a Salesman (1985), for which he earned an Emmy.

Tuesday, August 27 - Walter Brennan (1894-1974) was one of America's most beloved character actors and is on the short list of performers to win three Academy Awards. His Oscars were for Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938) and The Westerner (1940), with an additional nomination for Sergeant York (1941). He amassed more than 240 credits in film and television and starred in the TV series The Real McCoys.

Thursday, August 29 - Paul Lukas (1894-1971) was a Hungarian-born performer who won a Best Actor Oscar for Watch on the Rhine (1943), playing the role he had originated on the Broadway stage. In addition to his theater work, he had a busy film career that lasted from 1920 to 1970. Roles included Jo's love interest in Little Women (1933) and detective Philo Vance in The Casino Murder Case (1935).

by Roger Fristoe