Danielle Spencer, the actress best known for playing the quick-witted little sister Dee Thomas on the 1970s sitcom “What’s Happening!!” died on Monday at a hospital in Richmond, Va., her brother announced on Instagram. She had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer and undergone a double mastectomy and emergency surgeries. She was 60.
Born in Trenton, N.J. in 1965, Spencer started acting after her family relocated to New York City early in her life. At the age of 11, she was cast as Dee Thomas in “What’s Happening!!,” an ABC sitcom created by Eric Monte and executive produced by “All In The Family’s” Bud Yorkin.
Based on of the 1975 coming-of-age film “Cooley High,” “What’s Happening!!” chronicled the lives and teenage antics of Raj Thomas (Ernest Thomas), Dwayne Nelson (Haywood Nelson) and Freddy “Rerun” Stubbs (Fred Berry). Dee was Raj’s younger sister with a sharp tongue and even sharper attitude, quick to tattle on her brother and his friends for their adolescent shenanigans. Buoyed by Spencer’s earnest performance, Dee was a consistent fan favorite on the show.
Initially greenlit for a four-episode replacement summer run, “What’s Happening!!” was so well received that ABC renewed it for a full season. The series ran for three seasons total between 1976 and 1979. During production of the second season, Spencer was in a car accident on the Pacific Coast Highway that killed her stepfather. Spencer was in a coma for three weeks following the accident and she underwent physical therapy for the next six months.
After “What’s Happening!!’s” cancellation, Spencer and her mother moved to the Ivory Coast for the remainder of her childhood before she returned to the United States for college. Spencer attended the U. of California Davis, where she studied veterinary science.
While Spencer was in college, she occasionally reprised her role as Dee Thomas in episodes of the “What’s Happening Now!!,” a sequel series which ran for an additional three seasons between 1985 and 1988.
Spencer later went to Tuskegee University Veterinary School, where she earned her doctorate in 1993. During her two-decade career as a veterinarian in the Los Angeles area, she occasionally acted, making brief appearances in James L. Brooks’ “As Good as It Gets” and the NBC series “Days of Our Lives.” In 2004, she was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and underwent a surgery that left her paralyzed from the waist down for eight months.
In 2010, Spencer wrote a memoir titled “Through the Fire … Journal of a Child Star,” which sparked a resurgence in interest in her career. Following the book, she appeared on “The Wendy Williams Show” and reunited with her “What’s Happening!!” cast members on “Life After” and “Unsung Hollywood.”
She moved from Los Angeles to Richmond, Va. in 2014. There, she hosted a regular morning segment on the local CBS affiliate, WTVR-TV about pet care. The same year that she moved, she was also inducted into the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Spencer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014.
Spencer was married twice, first to her marketing manager and publicist Garry Fields between 1999 and their divorce in 2013, and then to fashion designer and entrepreneur David L. David in 2014. Spencer and David co-hosted the podcast “Living with Danielle and David,” where they discussed love, marriage, and their work in entertainment with guests.
Spencer is survived by her mother, Cheryl Pelt, her brother, Jeremy Pelt, a jazz trumpeter.
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