Danielle Spencer has handed away at age 60. The actress was finest recognized for enjoying the wisecracking and tattling little sister Dee Thomas on the Seventies sitcom ‘What’s Occurring!!’ Spencer died Monday (August 11) after a yearslong battle with most cancers. Household spokesperson Sandra Jones confirmed the information, per the Related Press.
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Spencer’s Traumatic Well being Historical past
Within the manufacturing of ‘What’s Occurring!!’s first season, Spencer was in a serious automotive accident on the Pacific Coast Freeway in Malibu, California. She was 12, and the accident left her in a coma for 3 weeks and killed her stepfather, Tim Pelt. For years after, she needed to endure a number of surgical procedures attributable to spinal and neurological issues.
In 2014, she was recognized with breast most cancers and had a double mastectomy. Moreover, in 2018, she had emergency surgical procedure for a bleeding hematoma, which stemmed from her 1977 automotive crash. Instantly after, a household spokesperson stated Danielle Spencer might solely communicate barely and had to make use of crutches to stroll. She had been struggling signs from at the least 2004, when she had to make use of a wheelchair and relearn the way to stroll.
Danielle Spencer Will Perpetually Be Dee To Followers
As Dee, Spencer was the smarter, extra critical youthful sister who supplied a gentle stream of deadpan roasts. Her victims of selection? Massive brother Roger ‘Raj’ Thomas and his mates Dwayne Nelson and Freddie ‘Rerun’ Stubbs. “Ooh, I’m gonna inform mama,” would grow to be Dee’s catchphrase.
The present was set in Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. It was among the many first on tv to give attention to the lives of Black youngsters. ‘What’s Occurring!!’ was based mostly on the film ‘Cooley Excessive’ and ran on ABC from 1976 to 1979. It had an extended legacy due to its memorable characters. The geeky Raj, the catchphrase-spouting Dwayne, the red-bereted dancing phenom Rerun, and Dee together with her eyerolls and icy stare have been on that checklist. Danielle Spencer additionally appeared as Dee on a mid-Nineteen Eighties reboot of the present, ‘What’s Occurring Now!!,’ which ran for 3 seasons.
Haywood Nelson, who performed Dwayne, additionally confirmed Danielle’s loss of life in an Instagram submit on August 12. He began his caption by acknowledging her “brilliance.”
“Dr. Dee, our good, loving, optimistic, pragmatic warrior, with out fail, has lastly discovered her launch from the clutches of this world and a physique. We have a good time Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we remorse to tell her departure and transition from an extended battle with most cancers. Now we have misplaced a daughter, sister, member of the family, ‘What’s Occurring’ solid member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and most cancers heroine. Our Shero. Danielle is liked. She will likely be missed on this kind and endlessly embraced,” Nelson wrote.
What Occurred After Her Time On The TV Sequence
In her younger maturity, Spencer attended the College of California, Davis, and UCLA. She earned a doctorate in veterinary drugs from Tuskegee College in 1993 and have become a veterinarian and animal advocate. Danielle continued to dabble in performing, together with an look as a veterinarian within the 1997 Jack Nicholson movie ‘As Good because it Will get.’
R.I.P. Danielle Spencer!
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Related Press Leisure Author Andrew Dalton contributed to this report.
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