Danielle Spencer, child star of 'What's Happening,' dies at 60 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

opus · 08-12-2025, 01:30 PM

>>>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...ar-60-11789511

1960'sTVfan · 08-12-2025, 02:28 PM

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.

BestTVever · 08-12-2025, 05:51 PM

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

D-Dey · 08-12-2025, 07:02 PM

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!

Bonniegirl · 08-12-2025, 09:29 PM

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.

howilu · 08-13-2025, 09:49 AM

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.

Dude111 · 08-13-2025, 11:07 AM

Very sad......

EccentricGenius · 08-13-2025, 03:35 PM

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

opus · 08-13-2025, 11:28 PM

Immortalized by Chandler on Friends

https://y.yarn.co/9d088c27-ab12-40a6...8a5b1_text.gif

weldonballou · 08-13-2025, 11:58 PM

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

ThisLittlePiggy · 08-14-2025, 12:29 PM

I really liked her.

julian bozo · 08-15-2025, 12:42 AM

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

Bonniegirl · 08-15-2025, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by julian bozo

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

That is beautiful !

opus · 08-15-2025, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opus

Immortalized by Chandler on Friends

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.

TJ · 08-15-2025, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opus

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/com...displaying_on/

08-12-2025, 01:30 PM	#1
opus VB Forum Superstar Join Date: May 16, 2015 Location: VB Galaxy Posts: 32,053	Danielle Spencer, child star of 'What's Happening,' dies at 60 >>>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...ar-60-11789511

08-12-2025, 07:02 PM	#4
D-Dey Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 11, 2000 Location: Long Island, New York, USA Posts: 5,508	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!
	__________________ Funny song parodies here: http://www.amiright.com/parody/60s/thebeatles11.shtml http://www.amiright.com/parody/2000s...nstoner0.shtml http://www.amiright.com/parody/2000s/weezer56.shtml http://www.amiright.com/parody/2000s/thedonnas4.shtml Petition the United States Postal Service for a stamp honoring Minoru Yamasaki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Yamasaki http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/lea...-committee.htm

08-13-2025, 11:28 PM	#9
opus VB Forum Superstar Join Date: May 16, 2015 Location: VB Galaxy Posts: 32,053	Immortalized by Chandler on Friends https://y.yarn.co/9d088c27-ab12-40a6...8a5b1_text.gif
	Last edited by TJ; 08-15-2025 at 05:19 PM.

08-15-2025, 12:42 AM	#12
julian bozo Member Senior Member Join Date: Jun 30, 2001 Location: Cullman,Al,United States Posts: 1,534	Beautiful Picture of her and Fred and Shirley going through the gates of Heaven. Attached Images

08-12-2025, 02:28 PM	#2
1960'sTVfan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 30, 2009 Posts: 6,046	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.

08-12-2025, 05:51 PM	#3
BestTVever Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 29, 2021 Location: Miami Posts: 1,874	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

08-12-2025, 09:29 PM	#5
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,399	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.

08-13-2025, 09:49 AM	#6
howilu Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 20, 2003 Location: St. Louis Park, MN Posts: 1,958	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.

08-13-2025, 11:07 AM	#7
Dude111 Forum Legend Join Date: Nov 05, 2013 Posts: 35,352	Very sad......

08-13-2025, 03:35 PM	#8
EccentricGenius Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 30, 2015 Posts: 766	Sad news indeed. May Danielle Spencer rest in peace...she will be missed.

08-13-2025, 11:58 PM	#10
weldonballou Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Jul 10, 2020 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 66	This is very sad to read. Far too young. She will be missed.

08-14-2025, 12:29 PM	#11
ThisLittlePiggy Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Nov 02, 2013 Posts: 83,179	I really liked her.