Omnihanded Entertainmet News | Danielle Spencer, Wise-Cracking Dee on ‘What’s Happening!!,’ Dies at 60

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Danielle Spencer, who memorably played a little girl with savage sass on “What’s Happening!!,” has died. She was 60.

According to THR, Spencer had suffered a long series of health setbacks, including breast cancer and emergency surgery in 2018 to relieve a brain bleed.

She had survived a horrific car crash at the height of her “What’s Happening!!” fame in 1977 that killed her stepfather, and the crash contributed to a bout of paralysis later in life.

Spencer was born June 24, 1965, in Trenton, New Jersey, but grew up in the Bronx.

An actor first on the stage, she won the role of Dee Thomas on “What’s Happening!!,” a groundbreaking sitcom whose entire main cast was Black.

Inspired by the 1975 film “Cooley High,” the series allowed Thomas to break ground of her own — not only was she the anti-Beaver Cleaver, an earthy and hilariously self-possessed pre-teen with a sharp wit and sharper tongue — she was perhaps the first young Black actor so heavily featured on a major series.

There was a reason Dee seemed so refreshingly real.

She told Jet magazine 11 years ago, “I had never seen any young Black girl in that type of spotlight, so I didn’t have a reference point in the media as to how to deal with this opportunity… What I did was use my own family as the reference on how to portray my character.”

Spencer appeared on 65 episodes of the beloved series (1976-1979), and reprised her role on “What’s Happening Now!!” (1985-1988), a sequel show that was syndicated.

Aside from those shows, she acted very little, including appearing on “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour” (1977).

After her brush with fame, Spencer’s family moved to the Ivory Coast. She later became a veterinarian, playing one in the 1997 Oscar winner “As Good as It Gets” with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.

Her last performance came on an episode of “Days of Our Lives” in 2001.

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She is survived by her mom, her brother Jeremy, and her adoring “What’s Happening!!” castmates Ernest Thomas and Haywood Nelson.

Co-star Haywood Nelson remembered her on Instagram, writing, “Brilliance! It comes in a great many forms. We all have them and we all have this family’s – Dr. Danielle Spencer (June 24, 1965 – August 11, 2025). Dr. Dee, our brilliant, loving, positive, pragmatic warrior, without fail, has finally found her release from the clutches of this world and a body. We celebrate Danielle Spencer and her contributions as we regret to inform her departure and transition from a long battle with cancer.”

He went on, “We have lost a daughter, sister, family member, “What’s Happening” cast member, veterinarian animal rights proponent and healer, and cancer heroine. Our Shero. Danielle is loved. She will be missed in this form and forever embraced.”

All pass types in Madden 26

There are three main passes you can throw as a quarterback: standard, lob, and bullet. However, there are some other, more specific passes that are also available to throw: high pass, low pass, and throwing the ball away. Each of these passes requires you to press/hold a different button to throw it, and all of them alter your base pass in some way.

The standard pass is called a “touch pass” in-game, and it’s the most generic pass you can throw. Alternatively, a lob pass puts more air under the ball, making it slower but also letting it travel farther, and the bullet pass adds extra speed on your pass, which gets the ball to its destination quicker but can lead to some inaccuracy.

The other kinds of passes are the high pass and the low pass. These are fairly self-explanatory, and if you choose to throw either one, your pass will reach its target at a higher or lower point than normal. There’s also the “throw away” pass, but this just launches the ball to either sideline, avoiding an errant throw to the defense.

How to throw each pass in Madden 26

Now that you know a little more about the different passes in Madden 26, you can look below to see how to throw each pass:

Touch Pass: Tap and release the button of the receiver you want to throw to

Bullet Pass: Tap and hold the button of the receiver you want to throw to

Lob Pass: Quickly tap the button of the receiver you want to throw to

High Pass: Hold L1/LB when throwing a pass

Low Pass: Hold L2/LT when throwing a pass

Throw the ball away: Press down on the right joystick (R3)

All of the passing controls in Madden 26

Understanding the difference between tapping and holding a button is key to figuring out how to throw each kind of pass. For example, if you tap a receiver button for too long, you’ll throw a touch pass instead of a lob pass. However, if you hold that button for a little longer, it’ll result in a bullet pass.

If this is your first time dealing with these passes, you can hop into a training session in Madden 26 and practice offense using passing plays. From here, continue to try out each kind of pass until you get the hang of the timings.

Best situations for each pass in Madden 26

Using a bullet pass to quickly get the ball to a receiver

Finally, once you understand how to throw the different passes, you’ll need to know when to use them. For the most part, each pass has a specific situation it’s intended for, which you can see below:

Touch Pass: The touch pass is the pass you’ll probably use the most in Madden 26. It’s used whenever you need a standard pass that doesn’t require any extra strategy. Crossing routes, screens, and basic timing patterns will make the most out of the touch pass.

Bullet Pass: As we mentioned earlier, a bullet pass can lead to inaccurate throws because you’re going to lose the arc of the ball’s trajectory. As such, you want to use a bullet pass on short passes, or in tight-window throws.

Lob Pass: A lob pass is perfect for long balls where you need some extra air to put the pass over a defender’s head and right into your receiver’s arms. You can also use a lob pass for a crossing route in the middle of the field if there are some defenders in the way.

High Pass: High passes are best for taller receivers who can exploit a smaller defender who’s near them. Give him a jump ball and let him Moss the other guy.

Low Pass: A low pass is mostly used when you need to fit a ball into a tight window when you’re throwing to a smaller receiver, like hitting a guy coming across the field low and away from the defender. Put it where only your target can come down with the ball.

Throw the ball away: The throw-away ball should only be used when you see no open defenders and no scrambling lanes for your quarterback. Make sure to start the throw-away pass before a defender reaches you, though. Also, get out of the pocket before you do it, or else you’ll be hit with an intentional grounding penalty.

Figuring out when to throw each kind of pass in Madden 26 mostly comes with practice. Get into games, see when and where a certain pass will work out best, and then remember how the play unfolded so you can try it again in the future.