Danielle Spencer—Better Known As Dee From “What’s Happening!!”—Dies At 60
Dr. Danielle Spencer, the actress who gained over tv audiences because the sharp-tongued child sister Dee Thomas on the hit Nineteen Seventies sitcom What’s Happening!!, has died at 60 after a protracted battle with most cancers.
The unhappy information was confirmed by her longtime pal and former co-star Haywood Nelson, who performed Dwayne Nelson on the beloved sequence.
Nelson shared the loss in a heartfelt put up on social media Tuesday (August 12), ensuring to notice she was greater than a TV star.
“We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, What’s Happening cast member, veterinarian, animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine,” Nelson wrote. “Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced.”
Millions keep in mind Spencer for the short comebacks and side-eye she delivered as Dee from 1976 to 1979 on What’s Happening!! And she later starred within the sequel sequence What’s Happening Now!!. Spencer carved out a second act removed from Hollywood lights. She turned a veterinarian, dedicating her life to the care of animals.
Her devotion to veterinary medication started early. In a 1985 interview with the Amsterdam News throughout her school years as a pre-veterinary main, Spencer defined, “I’ve always had a knack for caring for animals and I’ve always been interested in chemistry, bacteriology and about the body.”
What’s Happening!! aired on ABC for 3 seasons, chronicling the lives of three Black teenagers—Raj (Ernest Lee Thomas), Dwayne (Nelson) and Freddy “Rerun” Stubbs (Fred Berry)—rising up in Los Angeles. Spencer’s Dee was Raj’s whip-smart youthful sister, recognized for protecting the boys in test with completely timed zingers.
The 1985 sequel What’s Happening Now!! introduced the forged again collectively as adults navigating new challenges, with Spencer reprising her position till the sequence resulted in 1988.
Spencer’s dying marks the top of an period for followers who grew up watching her on primetime TV, however her legacy stretches nicely past the display screen. She stood out as a toddler star who transitioned right into a profession of service, mixing compassion, mind and willpower in each chapter of her life.
For those that liked her work, whether or not on tv or within the clinic, Danielle Spencer leaves behind not solely reminiscences of her wit and appeal but additionally a reminder that reinvention is feasible, and objective might be discovered in lots of kinds.
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