>>>Former child star Danielle Spencer, who became a household name playing Dee Thomas on the ABC sitcom What’s Happening, died on Aug. 11. Spencer's friend and costar Haywood Nelson announced the news in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

“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)," Nelson wrote in his tribute to Spencer. "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."<<<

https://ew.com/danielle-spencer-dead-whats-happening-star-60-11789511

Sad to learn about this, she was terrific on the What's Happening! show. Sounds like she had been battling some health issues. May she R.I.P.

She was incredibly funny especially in the first season. Burger Queen will always be one of my favorite episodes.

This is one of my favorite scenes: Is Mama Home?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLbzAQgvy6A

The best of Dee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7DmI2hgwMM

I wasn't the biggest fan of the show, but holy crap. This woman was a few months older than me! And the youngest cast member of the series!

So very sad. She was having health issues, but still too young to pass away. Only 60. :(

May she rest in peace. I loved Dee ! What's Happening was a funny show.

Her most memorable line on the show was "Ooh! I'm telling Mama." May she rest in peace with Mabel King, Fred Berry and Shirley Hemphill.

Very sad......

Sad news indeed. May Danielle Spencer rest in peace...she will be missed.

Immortalized by Chandler on Friends

https://y.yarn.co/9d088c27-ab12-40a6-9f75-2624e698a5b1_text.gif

https://y.yarn.co/9d088c27-ab12-40a6-9f75-2624e698a5b1_text.gif

This is very sad to read. Far too young. She will be missed.

I really liked her.

Beautiful Picture of her and Fred and Shirley going through the gates of Heaven.

Beautiful Picture of her and Fred and Shirley going through the gates of Heaven.

That is beautiful !

Immortalized by Chandler on Friends


https://y.yarn.co/9d088c27-ab12-40a6-9f75-2624e698a5b1_text.gif

I was thinking, with the original popularity of Friends and the continued popularity of Friends, this scene might very well be lots of people’s introduction to the name Dee and What’s Happening. And maybe it causes them to track it down and watch it.

I was thinking, with the original popularity of Friends and the continued popularity of Friends, this scene might very well be lots of people’s introduction to the name Dee and What’s Happening. And maybe it causes them to track it down and watch it.

The y.yarn.co gifs don't show up on PCs for some reason. They are probably preventing hotlinking with Cloudflare. Maybe they only work on mobile. You might want to include the link as well when posting gifs from them.

https://www.reddit.com/r/getyarn/comments/1eh1844/problem_with_videos_playing_or_displaying_on/

The y.yarn.co gifs don't show up on PCs for some reason. They are probably preventing hotlinking with Cloudflare. Maybe they only work on mobile. You might want to include the link as well when posting gifs from them.

https://www.reddit.com/r/getyarn/comments/1eh1844/problem_with_videos_playing_or_displaying_on/

Ok, but I could always see it on my PC. Still do.

Ok, but I could always see it on my PC. Still do.

It's strange that you can see it on your PC. If you test it in some hotlinking sites, it's blocked.

http://coldlink.com/htm/tool.htm

https://www.thepcmanwebsite.com/hotlinking_prevention_test.shtml

https://www.free-webhosts.com/hotlinking-checker.php

When you click on the gif link, it takes you to the Cloudflare managed challenge page.

https://y.yarn.co/9d088c27-ab12-40a6-9f75-2624e698a5b1_text.gif

Holly Robinson Peete calls out Emmy's for excluding Danielle Spencer from In Memorium (https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/holly-robinson-peete-slams-emmys-for-excluding-danielle-spencer/)

Holly Robinson Peete calls out Emmy's for excluding Danielle Spencer from In Memorium (https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/holly-robinson-peete-slams-emmys-for-excluding-danielle-spencer/)
Horrible. They also left out Polly Holiday.