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Danielle Spencer, who played the precocious youngster Dee Thomas on the 1970s ABC sitcom What's Happening!!, has passed away at the age of 60.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Spencer died on Monday in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia. The news of her demise was confirmed by Spencer's What's Happening!! co-star Haywood Nelson. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy in 2014 and in 2018 underwent emergency surgery to relieve bleeding on her brain. A GoFundMe page was set up to help her pay for her medical expenses. "She suffered for a very long time but did it with a great deal of courage," Nelson said. Co-produced by All in the Family's Bud Yorkin, What's Happening!! was loosely based on the 1975 film Cooley High (Eric Monte wrote the movie screenplay and created the Watts-based sitcom). After a successful four-week run that started in August 1976, the comedy returned in November of that year and then for another two seasons. Spencer played Dee, the smart-aleck younger sister of Roger "Raj" Thomas (Ernest Thomas) and daughter of Mabel (Mabel King), and she became known for her catch phrase, "Ooooh, I'm gonna tell Mama!" Nelson portrayed the down-to-earth Dwayne on the show. (ANI)
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