Latest news with #What'sHappeningNow!!'
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Danielle Spencer, child star on ‘What's Happening!!,' dies at 60
The show focused on Roger 'Raj' Thomas (Ernest Thomas), Freddie 'Rerun' Stubbs (Fred Berry), and Dwayne Nelson (Haywood Nelson) as they grew up in Los Angeles. Ms. Spencer played Dee, Raj's younger sister, on the original show for 65 episodes, and then again on the reboot, 'What's Happening Now!!,' for 16 episodes. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up '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,' Ms. Spencer told Jet Magazine in 2014. 'I was from the Bronx. What I did was use my own family as the reference on how to portray my character.' Advertisement She became best known for her line 'Ooh, I'm telling Mama,' which fans would regularly say to her for years after. Advertisement 'I chuckle because everyone thinks it's original, so I have to act like it's new every time,' she told Black America Web. Ms. Spencer did not originally get the part after auditioning, she said in an interview with a Richmond CBS affiliate television station in 2016. But a month after her audition, she got a call to head out to Los Angeles — a culture shock for someone who grew up in the Bronx. The character was written as someone who did not hold her tongue and could give as good as she received. Decades after the show went off the air, Ms. Spencer said that her portrayal wasn't inspired by her true personality — at least, not totally. 'I did not have an older brother,' Ms. Spencer told the CBS affiliate. 'However, I had a lot of pent up sassiness because I wanted to be like that. And I had an excuse, so why not?' Danielle Louise Spencer was born June 24, 1965, in the Bronx. Her father, James Spencer, was a civil servant in New York, while her mother, Cheryl (Smith) Spencer, was a schoolteacher. Her acting career began around age 8. 'I realized early on in my acting classes that it was fun memorizing lines, putting on makeup and pretending to be different characters,' she told Jet Magazine. 'Acting really is therapeutic because you're able to relate to your characters and figure out what makes them tick while also infusing your own personality.' After 'What's Happening Now!!' went off the air in 1988, Ms. Spencer studied veterinary medicine at Tuskegee University in Alabama, graduating with a doctorate in 1993. (She obtained an undergraduate degree in marine biology from UCLA.) Advertisement From her telling, her love of animals started as a young girl. 'Ever since I was 5 years old, I can recall bringing my first pet home to my mom,' she told an interviewer in 2012. 'She's like, 'What is this?' I'm saying, 'You have to keep the pet. I mean, you can't throw it out.' And I'm screaming and crying. And she let me.' Her veterinary career lasted several decades. While her acting career mostly stopped with the role of Dee Thomas, she did appear as a veterinarian in the 1997 film 'As Good as It Gets.' During the production of the second season of 'What's Happening!!,' Ms. Spencer and her stepfather, Tim Pelt, were involved in a car crash that ultimately killed Pelt. Ms. Spencer was in a coma for three weeks, with a broken pelvis and limbs. But she healed and returned in time for the show's final season. She later credited Pelt and her mother, Cheryl Pelt, with being huge influences on her acting career, including helping select auditions to attend. In addition to her mother, she is survived by her brother, Jeremy Pelt. Nearly 20 years after the crash, Ms. Spencer developed health problems related to it. In 2004, she began experiencing symptoms of spinal stenosis that left her close to paralysis, and that doctors attributed to the crash. In addition, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and underwent a double mastectomy. She said she leaned on her family to get through it. 'They didn't want me to think of suicide even though I had considered it,' Ms. Spencer recalled in a 2016 interview on the Oprah Winfrey Network. She required emergency brain surgery in 2018. Advertisement In 2016, she was inducted into the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 'I still can't believe it,' she told Black America Web when she found out about the honor. 'That's something people can look at for years to come, long after I'm gone.' This article originally appeared in
NBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
‘What's Happening!!' child TV star Danielle Spencer dies at 60
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. Family spokesperson Sandra Jones confirmed to the Associated Press that Spencer died after a yearslong battle with cancer. 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. 'Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body,' Nelson said in his Instagram post. 'We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.' Spencer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and underwent emergency surgery for brain bleed in 2018. She played Dee Thomas, a sassy young member of the Thomas family on 'What's Happening!!,' which was broadcast on ABC from 1976 to 1979. She reprised the role in 'What's Happening Now!!' in the 1980s. Born in New Jersey, Spencer was seriously injured in a major car crash in 1976 that killed her stepfather, actor Tim Pelt. She attended the University of California, Davis and pursued a degree in medicine. She then pursued her life-long passion for helping animals, attending Tuskegee University Veterinary School in Alabama and becoming a veterinarian in 1996.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Danielle Spencer from ‘What's Happening!!' passes away at 60
Trigger warning: This article contains mention of an individual's death. Former child star Danielle Spencer , best known for her memorable role as the quick-witted Dee Thomas in the 1970s sitcom 'What's Happening!!', has passed away at the age of 60. Her legacy as a talented actress and her lasting impact on television and film are being remembered by fans and colleagues. Spencer's notable performances in projects like 'What's Happening Now!!' and 'As Good as it Gets' showcased her unique acting style and cemented her place in pop culture history. Danielle Spencer passes away at the age of 60 The former TV star passed on at the age of 60 in Richmond, Virginia, as confirmed by her co-star and friend Haywood Nelson, as per a report by The Hollywood Reporter. While talking about his co-star, Nelson shared that, 'She suffered for a very long time but did it with a great deal of courage'. The actress was diagnosed earlier with breast cancer and had undergone a double mastectomy in 2014. Afterwards, she had undergone another surgery in 2018 to help relieve bleeding in her brain. The star had undergone a lot of health issues in her life. Almost a decade after an accident that had killed her stepfather, she even ended up developing a spinal condition that had left dependent on a wheelchair for quite some time. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Secret Lives of the Romanovs — the Last Rulers of Imperial Russia! Learn More Undo All about the late Danielle Spencer The late Danielle Spencer was a prolific actor who had been a part of the entertainment industry for a short amount of time; however, she had still managed to leave her mark. While she started her journey in the industry at the mere age of 7, her best known role came much later in life. She was best known for her role in the hit show, 'What's Happening!!', where she took on the role of Dee, and became known for her popular catchphrase 'Ooooh, I'm gonna tell Mama!' After getting into an auto accident during the filming of the second season of the show, she went on to become a veterinarian in 1993, though she still ended up appearing in programs.
