Danielle Spencer, who rose to fame as a child actor, has died.
Spencer, a Trenton native, played the hilarious young Dee Thomas in the ABC comedy series “What’s Happening!!”
The actor, who grew up in the Bronx, later became a veterinarian.
Her younger brother, jazz trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, announced on Instagram that she died of cancer.
Pelt watched Spencer, 60, take her last breath.
“August 11, 2025 will forever be a reminder of the day that I lost a big part of myself,” he said. “After many years, my big sister, Dr. Danielle Louise Spencer lost her battle with cancer. Many of you knew her as ‘Dee,’ but she was more than a child actress. She was a friend, an auntie to my three children who adored her, she was a daughter- and in many ways, my mother’s best friend, she was a veterinarian, she was someone who always remained positive even during her darkest days fighting this disease.”
ABC reports that Spencer died of gastric cancer and cardiac arrest.
The TV star, who died in Richmond, Virginia, had a double mastectomy and other surgeries after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, Variety reports.
“She suffered for a very long time but did it with a great deal of courage,” Spencer’s co-star Haywood Nelson (Dwayne Clemens Nelson in the show) told The Hollywood Reporter.
“What’s Happening!!” debuted in 1976 and aired for three seasons on ABC, ending in 1979.
Spencer was 11 years old when she was cast as Deadra “Dee” Thomas in the sitcom.
The character, sister of Roger “Raj” Thomas (Ernest Thomas) and daughter of Mabel “Mama” Thomas (Mabel King), was known for her frank, deadpan delivery.
Eric Monte, co-creator of “Good Times,” created “What’s Happening!!”
He based the show, set in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood, on the 1975 movie “Cooley High,” which he also wrote.
Spencer was in a serious car accident as a child during the filming of the show.
The crash, on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, killed her stepfather, actor Tim Pelt, and left her in a coma for weeks. After the accident, she needed six months of physical therapy.
Physical effects of the crash lingered decades later. Spencer was diagnosed with spinal stenosis in 2004 and underwent surgery that caused paralysis. She was treated through rehabilitation.
Following the cancellation of “What’s Happening!!” in 1979, Spencer moved to Ivory Coast with her mother, writer and teacher Cheryl Pelt.
When Spencer returned to the United States, she studied marine biology and veterinary medicine.
She reprised the role of Dee in the series revival “What’s Happening Now!!” in the 1980s (see episode below) and occasionally continued to act.
Spencer played a veterinarian in James L. Brooks’ Oscar-winning movie “As Good As it Gets” (1997), starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear.
She also had a regular pet care segment on CBS channel WTVR in Richmond.
The “What’s Happening!!” star is survived by her brother, Jeremy Pelt, and her mother, Cheryl Pelt.
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
