“What’s Happening!!”

“What’s Happening!!” was a comedy that ran from 1976 to 1979. It revolved around Roger “Raj” Thomas (played by Ernest Thomas) and his buddies Dwayne “Hey, hey, hey” Nelson (played by Haywood Nelson), and Fred “Rerun” Stubbs (played by Fred Berry).

Other characters were Dee Thomas, Raj’s younger sister, played by Danielle Spencer; and Mabel Thomas, Dee and Raj’s mother, played by Mabel King. It also starred Shirley Hempphill as Shirley Wilson, a waitress at the hangout of Raj, Dwayne and Rerun.

My favorite character on the show was the Dee, the wisecracking, younger sister. The episode that sticks out in my mind is the one where The Doobie Brothers guest starred, and “Rerun” got caught trying to tape them when they were performing.

Here’s the show’s second season opening, found on YouTube.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDffxteZXLg&feature=related

Here’s a clip featuring Dee and Raj:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QaNYN7plFc&feature=related

Here’s a clip featuring The Doobie Brothers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3Lb7Y4_zYk

For more details, go to imdb.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074071/