The recent passing of former What’s Happening!! star Danielle Spencer (Dee) has cast a bittersweet shadow over the beloved 1970s sitcom. Once a lively tale of teens navigating life with humor and heart, the series boasted a cast of unforgettable personalities. Today, only two of the series’ original stars remain.
Details about Spencer’s death were announced by her former co-star, Haywood Nelson, who played Dwayne Nelson on the series. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “She suffered for a very long time but did it with a great deal of courage.”
Spencer, 60, died in a hospital in Richmond, Virginia. She underwent a double mastectomy in 2014. Four years later, she had emergency surgery to relieve bleeding on her brain. A cause of death was not announced.
Nelson is one of the two remaining What’s Happening!! cast members still alive. Per Remind Magazine, he is a producer and a Digital Media Executive.
The other is Ernest Lee Thomas, who played Raj, Spencer’s older brother on the series. He most recently appeared in the 2024 series Diarra from Detroit and remains active on Instagram.
Fred Berry, who played Rerun, died in 2003. After the series ended, he appeared on its spinoff, What’s Happening Now!!, but left after one season. He ultimately became a motivational speaker and Baptist minister who died of natural causes at the age of 52 while recovering from a stroke.
Mabel King, who plated Raj and Dee’s mother, died in 1999 at the age of 66. Remind reports that prior to her death, she lost several limbs due to complications from diabetes.
Shirley Hemphill, (Shirley) also died in 1999 at 52 from kidney failure.
What’s Happening!! was created by Eric Monte (Good Times), and was loosely based on the film Cooley High. It was television's first African-American sitcom which focused solely on teenagers. The series ran from 1976 through 1979.
