Danielle Spencer, known for her role as the sharp-tongued and tattling little sister Dee Thomas on the iconic 1970s American sitcom What’s Happening!!, has passed away.
Spencer died on Monday at the age of 60, following a prolonged battle with cancer, according to family spokesperson Sandra Jones.
In the series, Dee was the clever and serious youngest sibling, famous for her deadpan jabs at her big brother Roger “Raj” Thomas and his friends Dwayne Nelson and Freddie “Rerun” Stubbs.
“Ooh, I’m gonna tell mama,” became one of Dee’s signature catchphrases.
Set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, the show was among the first on American television to highlight the lives of Black teenagers.
Inspired by the film Cooley High, it aired on ABC from 1976 to 1979. The series earned a lasting place in pop culture thanks to its distinctive characters, Raj, the brainy brother; Dwayne, with his memorable catchphrases; Rerun, the red-bereted dancer; and Dee, with her iconic eyerolls and cool demeanor.
During the early days of the show’s first season, 12-year-old Spencer was involved in a serious car accident on California’s Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
The crash left her in a coma for three weeks and tragically took the life of her stepfather, Tim Pelt. She faced ongoing spinal and neurological challenges that required multiple surgeries over the years.
In 2018, she underwent emergency surgery for a bleeding hematoma linked to the 1977 accident.
Her family revealed that at the time, she could barely speak and relied on crutches to walk.
Spencer had been dealing with symptoms dating back to 2004, when she used a wheelchair and had to relearn how to walk. In 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy.
Spencer also returned to the screen in the mid-1980s reboot, What’s Happening Now!!, which lasted three seasons.
Beyond acting, she became a veterinarian and animal advocate, earning her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tuskegee University in 1993 after attending the University of California, Davis, and UCLA.
She continued occasional acting roles, including a part as a veterinarian in the 1997 film As Good as it Gets, starring Jack Nicholson.