The show had an all black cast, set in 70s, but had no political agenda. It's only goal was to be funny.
Posted on 08/12/2025 11:58:12 AM PDT by DallasBiff
Child star Danielle Spencer, who portrayed Dee Thomas on the 1970s comedy TV series "What's Happening!!," has died at 60, according to former co-star and friend Haywood Nelson.
In an Instagram post, Nelson said Spencer died Monday in Virginia. No cause of death was included in the post, which featured a photo on Spencer.
Nelson told NBCLA Tuesday that he spoke with Spencer's mother, who confirmed she had died. He described Spencer as a "brilliant person who loved animals" and moved on from acting to become a veterinarian. Nelson, who played Dwayne as Spencer's "What's Happening!!" co-star, told NBCLA he spoke to her about a week ago and marveled at her positivity and optimism.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbclosangeles.com ...
RIP Danielle.
Indeed. I watched that show all the time! She had all the best lines, and she had the best dry delivery. Raj’s little sister.
I’m tellinnnnnn moooommmmm
RIP Danielle
I watched that one semi-regular. Average show. Danielle was the smart-mouthed “Danny Partridge” of the series. Not a great actress, but she was just a kid. They can’t all be Billy Mumy, Patty McCormack or Ronny Howard.
Rerun died years ago (given his weight, no surprise). I thought the actor who played Rog was fine. Dwayne’s character was a little too vanilla to know what was there. He just entered and said a sing-songy “Hey HEY Hey”. The mom was pretty hefty, like a lot of the black actresses in the matriarch role (That’s My Mama, Florida on Good Times). There must have been a real shortage of Diahann Carroll types.
I knew she had a brain but still hated that show. And the title is a question, not an exclamation. That's the other part that always bothered me.
The original "What's Happening" still holds up. The reboot, "What's Happening Now", with nearly the same cast, is painfully 1980s and nearly unwatchable.
Dee Dee died. Damn. Rest in Peace.
Used to watch the show in syndicaton when I was a kid.
Dukes of Hazzard was another.
Rerun sure could dance, though.
Which one was the one that got caught taping The Doobie Brothers?
The show had an all black cast, set in 70s, but had no political agenda. It's only goal was to be funny.
I used to watch that almost every day in the 80’s. It was on at 5pm. I can’t believe Dee died.
There must have been a real shortage of Diahann Carroll types.
I remember “Julia” growing up, and yeah, I had the schoolboy crush on her.
I remember that episode. I can’t remember his name but it the fat kid. He had this giant old-school tape recorder under his jacket.
And he had popcorn there too, so all you heard was the popcorn moving around.
Yeah, he had some moves.
Good to see at least one child actor escaped Hollywood and had a normal life. RIP.
lol, Re-Run!
That was a special two-part episode. Or an hour-long when it originally aired.
The Doobies should've known something was wrong when Re-Run showed up at the concert wearing an overcoat.
While I never saw a single episode of this one, I did see Amos & Andy.
Friends (1995)
Chandler notices Ross staring longingly at Rachel.Chandler: "Could you want her more?"
Ross: "Who?"
Chandler: (sigh) "Dee, the sarcastic sister from 'What's Happening".
Family Guy (2006)
Local News: "We now return to 'Native American What's Happening'"Roger: "Hey, Re-Run. Have you seen Dwayne?"
(Zoom out to a wide shot. Dwayne walks into frame.)
Dwayne: "How, How, How."
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