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Cool out and return to the days of tight pants, afro picks,
and... empty wallets. What's Happening was the African American answer to Happy Days and featured a theme almost as catchy as Quincy Jones's bouncy
number for Sanford and
Son (this time by the great Henry Mancini). The popular L.A.-based
sitcom premiered in 1976 during the height of the disco craze and the action
centers around bespectacled teenager Raj (Ernest Thomas, the show's Richie
Cunningham) and fun-lovin' pals Dwayne (Haywood Nelson) and Rerun ("'cause every
summer he gotta go back to school to repeat what he did all winter"; played by
Fred Berry). The boys are kept in check by Raj's hardworking single mother, Mrs.
Thomas (Mabel King), bratty kid sister Dee (Danielle Spencer), and sassy
waitress Shirley (Shirley Hemphill). (Sadly, King and Hemphill passed away in
1999; Berry in 2003.) |
