Danielle Spencer, Child Star on ‘What’s Happening!!,’ Is Dead at 60
She played a witty teenager on one of the first American television shows that centered Black teenagers.
Danielle Spencer, who starred on the 1970s sitcom
“What’s Happening!!,” died on Monday in Richmond,
Va. Jeff Kravitz
Credit...
Danielle Spencer, the actress who played the lovably bratty and witty teenager on the 1970s hit sitcom “What’s Happening!!” and its spinoff, “What’s Happening Now!!,” before spending much of her adult life as a veterinarian, died on Monday at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, Va. She was 60.
Her publicist, who confirmed the death, said the cause was gastric cancer and cardiac arrest.
“What’s Happening!!,” which ran on ABC from 1976 to 1979, was one of the first American television shows to center the experiences of Black teenagers. It was inspired by Eric Monte’s 1975 film “Cooley High,” which was set in Chicago, and it came at a time when Black sitcoms like “Sanford and Son” and “Good Times,” which was co-created by Mr. Monte, had become more prominent in American culture.
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