STAR GONE

‘What’s Happening!!’ Sitcom Star Dies at 60

Danielle Spencer played the beloved character of Dee Thomas for six years.

The child star who played Dee Thomas in the 70s sitcom What’s Happening!! has died at 60. Danielle Spencer passed away on Monday night following complications from cancer in a Virginia hospital, her former co-star and close friend Haywood Nelson told TMZ. The actress was surrounded by family when she passed. Nelson said that he last spoke to Spencer over the phone two weeks prior, where she sounded “upbeat.” Nelson told TMZ he always viewed Spencer like a younger sister. Spencer played the role of Thomas in ABC’s What’s Happening!! from 1976 to 1979 for three seasons, and reprised her role for the sequel What’s Happening Now!! from 1985 to 1988. She went on to become a veterinarian after her time as an actress. Nelson honored her legacy in an Instagram post on Tuesday, stating “Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body...She will be missed in this form and forever embraced.”