Dr. Danielle Spencer, best known for her role as Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom What’s Happening!!, has died at age 60. Her passing was announced on social media by her longtime friend and co-star Haywood Nelson, who played Dwayne Nelson on the series.
According to Nelson’s post, Spencer died Monday following a “long battle with cancer.” While she will be fondly remembered for her work on What’s Happening!! and its 1980s sequel What’s Happening Now!!, Spencer went on to build a career as a veterinarian, dedicating her life to caring for animals.
“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.”
In a 1985 interview with the AmNews, while she was in college majoring in pre-veterinary medicine, Spencer discussed her passion for her work.
“I’ve always had a knack for caring for animals and I’ve always been interested in chemistry, bacteriology and about the body,” she said.
What’s Happening!! aired on ABC for three seasons from 1976 to 1979, following three Black teenage friends—Raj (Ernest Lee Thomas), Dwayne (Nelson), and Freddy “Rerun” Stubbs (Fred Berry)—growing up in Los Angeles. Spencer played Dee, Raj’s quick-witted younger sister. The sequel series, What’s Happening Now!!, ran from 1985 to 1988, with the original cast reprising their roles as adults.
Additional reporting by Siddeeq Fortner
