Danielle Spencer, who portrayed Raj’s sassy younger sister on the 1970s sitcom What’s Happening!! died Monday, her former co-star Haywood Nelson revealed on Instagram. She was 60.
“Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body, Nelson wrote. “We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.”
“We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, “What’s Happening” cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine,” Nelson continued. “Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced.”
Spencer was born on June 24, 1965, in Trenton, NJ, to writer Cheryl Pelt. She began her acting career at age 8, and in 1976 was cast as Dee Thomas on ABC’s What’s Happening!!, which was loosely based on the film Cooley High. She appeared on all three seasons of the show, which ran from 1976 to 1979, and later reprised her role in the series’ sequel, What’s Happening Now!!
Tragedy struck during production on the second season of What’s Happening!! in 1977 when she and her stepfather Tim Pelt were involved in a serious car accident that left Pelt dead and Spencer in a coma for three weeks. She spent six months recovering with physical therapy.
After What’s Happening!! was canceled in 1979, Spencer segued away from acting and attended UC Davis to earn a degree in veterinary science. She later went on to Tuskegee University Veterinary School in Tuskegee, Alabama and became a veterinarian in 1996.
She occasionally made acting appearances after she began work as a veterinarian. She actually portrayed a veterinarian in James L. Brooks film As Good as It Gets and appeared in Peter Rabbit and the Crucifix in 2001. Additional credits include Days Of Our Lives and The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
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