Latest news with #What'sHappening!!"
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Danielle Spencer's Cause of Death Revealed
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Danielle Spencer, the former child actor best known for playing Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom What's Happening!!, died on Monday at the age of 60. The actress' death was due to gastric cancer and cardiac arrest, family friend and spokesperson Sandra Jones confirmed to ABC News. The Context Spencer starred in 65 episodes of What's Happening!! (1976–1979) and reprised her role in the sequel What's Happening Now!! (1985–1988). The shows were among the early American television programs to follow the lives of Black teenagers. She later earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tuskegee University in 1993 and practiced in the Richmond, Virginia, area after relocating there from California in 2014, according to ABC News. (L) Actress Danielle Spencer from the TV show "What's Happening!!" poses for a photo in November 1976 in Los Angeles, California. (R) Danielle Spencer, circa 1988. (L) Actress Danielle Spencer from the TV show "What's Happening!!" poses for a photo in November 1976 in Los Angeles, California. (R) Danielle Spencer, circa 1988. Michael; Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer What To Know Spencer died on August 11 at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond. Prior to her death, the sitcom star had a history of health issues. In 1977, Spencer was involved in a car accident that killed her stepfather and manager, Tim Pelt, her website bio states. She was in a coma for three weeks and had broken bones in her arm, leg and pelvis. Decades later, the injuries she endured left her wheelchair-bound, and she underwent physical therapy to learn how to walk again. In 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and in 2018, she had emergency surgery to relieve bleeding in the brain. Spencer was inducted into the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, marking the first time a child star received the honor. "I still can't believe it," she told in 2014. "That's something people can look at for years to come, long after I'm gone." What People Are Saying Sandra Jones told ABC News on Tuesday: "This untimely death is really hard to process right now. She is a sweet and gentle soul and she is going to be missed very, very much." Jeremy Pelt, Spencer's brother and jazz musician, penned a lengthy message to his sister via Instagram: "August 11, 2025 will forever be a reminder of the day that I lost a big part of myself. After many years, my big sister, Dr. Danielle Louise Spencer lost her battle with cancer." "Many of you knew her as 'Dee,' but she was more than a child actress. She was a friend, an auntie to my three children who adored her, she was a daughter- and in many ways, my mother's best friend, she was a veterinarian, she was someone who always remained positive even during her darkest days fighting this disease. And she was MY sister and protector." "My immediate family, of which there were only three of us had an unusual knack for always being connected even if we weren't always in contact with each other. Dani and I- our bond got stronger the older I (in particular) got. She's 11 years older than me. I used to relish our texts back and forth using unfiltered 'real' talk." "She positively LOVED Milo, Charlie and Amma and constantly dreamed of a time they'd all be visiting her and 'Mimi' (grandmother). The times they made it down south, she was always so encouraging. Always so uplifting. I'm rambling...I'm so fucking fucking gutted... I watched her take her last breath... I'm thankful for that." "I love you, forever." Haywood Nelson, Spencer's What's Happening!! co-star, wrote on Instagram: "Brilliance! It comes in a great many forms. We all have them and we all have this family's - Dr. Danielle Spencer (June 24, 1965 - August 11, 2025)." "Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body. We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer." "We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, What's Happening cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine. Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced." What Happens Next Spencer is survived by her brother, Jeremy Pelt, and mother, Cheryl Pelt. At the time of writing, no public memorial or funeral plans have been announced.
Mint
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Danielle Spencer, who played little sister Dee on What's Happening!!, dies at 60
Los Angeles, August 13 (AP) Danielle Spencer, who played the wisecracking and tattling little sister Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom "What's Happening!!" has died at 60. Spencer, who became a veterinarian later in life, died Monday at a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, after a year long battle with cancer, family spokesperson Sandra Jones said. As Dee, Spencer was the smarter, more serious younger sister who offered a steady stream of deadpan roasts of big brother Roger "Raj" Thomas and his friends Dwayne Nelson and Freddie "Rerun" Stubbs. "Ooh, I'm gonna tell mama," would become Dee's catchphrase. The show, set in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts and among the first on television to focus on the lives of Black teenagers, was based on the movie "Cooley High" and ran on ABC from 1976 to 1979. It had a long legacy thanks to its memorable characters, including the geeky Raj, the catchphrase-spouting Dwayne, the red-bereted dancing phenom Rerun, and Dee with her eyerolls and icy stare. Early in the production of the show's first season, Spencer, then 12, was in a major car accident on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, that left her in a coma for three weeks and killed her stepfather, Tim Pelt. She would have spinal and neurological problems that would require multiple surgeries in the years afterward. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, and raised in New York, Spencer began acting when she was about 9. "What's Happening!!" would be her first credited role. "Imagine being plucked from obscurity to star in a TV show," she told Jet magazine in 2014. "I had never seen any young Black girl in that type of spotlight, so I didn't have a reference point in the media as to how to deal with this opportunity. I was from the Bronx." Haywood Nelson, who played Dwayne on the show, paid tribute Tuesday to "Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior." "We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, 'What's Happening' cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine. Our Shero," Nelson said on Instagram. "Danielle is loved." Spencer also appeared on a mid-1980s reboot of the show, "What's Happening Now!!," which ran for three seasons. In 2018, she had emergency surgery for a bleeding hematoma, which stemmed from that 1977 car crash. In the immediate aftermath, a family spokesperson said she could only speak slightly and had to use crutches to walk. She had been suffering symptoms from at least 2004, when she had to use a wheelchair and relearn how to walk. In 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. She went on to become a veterinarian and advocate for animals. She attended the University of California, Davis, and UCLA, and got a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tuskegee University in 1993. Spencer continued to dabble in acting in her later years, including an appearance as a veterinarian in the 1997 Jack Nicholson film "As Good as it Gets." She is survived by her brother, musician Jeremy Pelt, and her mother, Cheryl Pelt. (AP) SMR BK BK
5 days ago
- Entertainment
'What's Happening!!' star Danielle Spencer dies at 60
Danielle Spencer, a former child actor best known for her role as Dee in the 1970s sitcom "What's Happening!!", has died, a publicist for her family confirmed to ABC News. Spencer died Aug. 11, after a battle with cancer. She was 60, according to Sandra Jones, a family friend who is serving as the family's spokesperson. "This untimely death is really hard to process right now," Jones told ABC News Tuesday. "She is a sweet and gentle soul and she is going to be missed very, very much." Spencer starred in 65 episodes of "What's Happening!!", an ABC sitcom about three teenage boys growing up in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts, according to IMDb. Spencer played Dee Thomas, the boys' younger sister. She also appeared in 16 episodes of the show's sequel, "What's Happening Now!" In 1977, Spencer survived a fatal car crash that killed her stepfather and manager, Tim Pelt, according to her biography on her website. After recovering from her injuries, Spencer went onto earn a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine in 1993. She moved from California to the Richmond, Virginia, area in 2014. At the time of her death, she lived with her mom in an area outside of Richmond, according to Jones. In addition to her mom, Cheryl Pelt, Spencer is also survived by her younger brother, jazz musician Jeremy Pelt. Jeremy Pelt shared a tribute to his sister on Instagram Tuesday, writing, "Many of you knew her as 'Dee,' but she was more than a child actress." "She was a friend, an auntie to my three children who adored her, she was a daughter- and in many ways, my mother's best friend, she was a veterinarian, she was someone who always remained positive even during her darkest days fighting this disease," he continued. "And she was MY sister and protector." He added that he was "thankful" to be with his sister when she took her last breath and was "gutted" by her death, writing, "I love you, forever." In a 2016 interview with a local Richmond TV station, Spencer reflected on her acting career being featured at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. "I seriously can't even digest it," Spencer said. "I mean, first of all, that the show is remembered from 40 years [ago], but then also to be featured in this museum along with other shows that have been trailblazers." Spencer said that her late stepfather brought her into the world of acting. At age 9, she said she got the call that she had won the role of Dee in "What's Happening!!" "A month later I got a phone call, and they said, 'Fly out to California. You have the role.' And it was just like my life changed," she said.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Danielle Spencer, 'What's Happening!!' child star, dead at 60: 'Forever embraced'
Danielle Spencer, a child star best known for her role on the ABC sitcom "What's Happening!!" in the 1970s, has reportedly died. She was 60. Spencer died Aug. 11, according to CBS 6 and Forbes. The actress's death followed a prolonged battle with cancer, CBS 6 reported. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, though she later recovered. It's not clear whether her death resulted from the same illness. "I came into the room, there were about five doctors in there," she said in an interview with CBS at the time, "So that scared the living daylights out of me. And they told me I had breast cancer." Following the diagnosis, she told the outlet she opted for a double mastectomy. She added that chemotherapy took longer because of a car accident years prior that left parts of her body paralyzed. Olivia Munn reveals breast cancer diagnosis, underwent double mastectomy On "What's Happening!!" Spencer turned herself into a household name at just 11 years old, playing the sassy and quick-witted Dee Thomas. The show ran for three seasons in the mid-70s and later returned for a revival, "What's Happening Now!!" which aired from 1985 to 1988. Her time on the show made her the first black female child to star regularly in a television series, a distinction honored in an exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. Opting for a career off-screen after her sitcom run, she attended school to study veterinary science and became a vet in 1996, serving the Richmond, Virginia, area until her death. Haywood Nelson, who appeared alongside Spencer in "What's Happening!!" took to Instagram to mourn his former co-star. "Brilliance! It comes in a great many forms," Haywood wrote in an Aug. 12 post. "Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body. We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer." "We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, 'What's Happening' cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine," he added. "Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Danielle Spencer, Dee from 'What's Hapenning!!', dead at 60 Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Danielle Spencer, 'What's Happening!!' child star, dead at 60: 'Forever embraced'
Danielle Spencer, a child star best known for her role on the ABC sitcom "What's Happening!!" in the 1970s, has reportedly died. She was 60. Spencer died Aug. 11, according to CBS 6 and Forbes. The actress's death followed a prolonged battle with cancer, CBS 6 reported. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, though she later recovered. It's not clear whether her death resulted from the same illness. "I came into the room, there were about five doctors in there," she said in an interview with CBS at the time, "So that scared the living daylights out of me. And they told me I had breast cancer." Following the diagnosis, she told the outlet she opted for a double mastectomy. She added that chemotherapy took longer because of a car accident years prior that left parts of her body paralyzed. Olivia Munn reveals breast cancer diagnosis, underwent double mastectomy On "What's Happening!!" Spencer turned herself into a household name at just 11 years old, playing the sassy and quick-witted Dee Thomas. The show ran for three seasons in the mid-70s and later returned for a revival, "What's Happening Now!!" which aired from 1985 to 1988. Her time on the show made her the first black female child to star regularly in a television series, a distinction honored in an exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. Opting for a career off-screen after her sitcom run, she attended school to study veterinary science and became a vet in 1996, serving the Richmond, Virginia, area until her death. Haywood Nelson, who appeared alongside Spencer in "What's Happening!!" took to Instagram to mourn his former co-star. "Brilliance! It comes in a great many forms," Haywood wrote in an Aug. 12 post. "Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body. We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer." "We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, 'What's Happening' cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine," he added. "Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced."
