‘What’s Happening!!’ Star Passes Away At 60

Danielle Spencer has handed away at age 60. The actress was greatest recognized for taking part in the wisecracking and tattling little sister Dee Thomas on the Nineteen Seventies sitcom ‘What’s Occurring!!’ Spencer died Monday (August 11) after a yearslong battle with most cancers. Household spokesperson Sandra Jones confirmed the information, per the Related Press.

RELATED: Prayers Up! Rapper Mack Maine Grieves The Demise Of His 20-Yr-Previous Son In Heartbreaking Submit (PHOTOS)

Spencer’s Traumatic Well being Historical past

Within the manufacturing of ‘What’s Occurring!!’s first season, Spencer was in a significant automotive accident on the Pacific Coast Freeway in Malibu, California. She was 12, and the accident left her in a coma for 3 weeks and killed her stepfather, Tim Pelt. For years after, she needed to bear a number of surgical procedures on account of spinal and neurological issues.

In 2014, she was identified with breast most cancers and had a double mastectomy. Moreover, in 2018, she had emergency surgical procedure for a bleeding hematoma, which stemmed from her 1977 automotive crash. Instantly after, a household spokesperson mentioned Danielle Spencer might solely communicate barely and had to make use of crutches to stroll. She had been struggling signs from at the very least 2004, when she had to make use of a wheelchair and relearn how you can stroll.

Danielle Spencer Will Eternally Be Dee To Followers

As Dee, Spencer was the smarter, extra severe youthful sister who provided a gradual stream of deadpan roasts. Her victims of alternative? Massive brother Roger ‘Raj’ Thomas and his mates Dwayne Nelson and Freddie ‘Rerun’ Stubbs. “Ooh, I’m gonna inform mama,” would turn out to be Dee’s catchphrase.

The present was set in Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. It was among the many first on tv to deal with the lives of Black youngsters. ‘What’s Occurring!!’ was based mostly on the film ‘Cooley Excessive’ and ran on ABC from 1976 to 1979. It had a protracted legacy due to its memorable characters. The geeky Raj, the catchphrase-spouting Dwayne, the red-bereted dancing phenom Rerun, and Dee together with her eyerolls and icy stare have been on that record. Danielle Spencer additionally appeared as Dee on a mid-Eighties reboot of the present, ‘What’s Occurring Now!!,’ which ran for 3 seasons.

Haywood Nelson, who performed Dwayne, additionally confirmed Danielle’s loss of life in an Instagram publish on August 12. He began his caption by acknowledging her “brilliance.”

“Dr. Dee, our good, loving, constructive, pragmatic warrior, with out fail, has lastly discovered her launch from the clutches of this world and a physique. We rejoice Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we remorse to tell her departure and transition from a protracted battle with most cancers. We’ve misplaced a daughter, sister, member of the family, ‘What’s Occurring’ forged member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and most cancers heroine. Our Shero. Danielle is beloved. She will probably be missed on this kind and eternally embraced,” Nelson wrote.

What Occurred After Her Time On The TV Collection

In her younger maturity, Spencer attended the College of California, Davis, and UCLA. She earned a doctorate in veterinary drugs from Tuskegee College in 1993 and have become a veterinarian and animal advocate. Danielle continued to dabble in appearing, together with an look as a veterinarian within the 1997 Jack Nicholson movie ‘As Good because it Will get.’