WHAT HAPPENED?

WHAT'S HAPPENING!!
ABC 1976-1979

WHAT HAPPENED?
MAD #199, June 1978
w: Lou Silverstone
a: Angelo Torres

What's Happening!! (spelled with exclamation points and not a question mark) was quite similar to Happy Days, following the adventures of three teenagers, Roger Thomas a/k/a Raj (Ernest Thomas), Dwayne Nelson (Heywood Nelson), Rerun (Fred Berry), and Raj's sardonic kid sister Dee (Danielle Spencer). Shirley (Shirley Hemphill) was the waitress at Rob's Place where they all hung out. The show was called that because of how Duane said “Hey-hey-hey. What's Happening?”in a sing-songy voice.

Raj and Dee's mother was played by Mabel King.

Richard Pryor was probably the hottest comedian at that time. The word “cancelled” applying to a person existed that far back.

Rene(e) Richards was a trans tennis player before being trans was usually one of the last things on the list mentioned to describe someone. Come to think of it, being black was pretty high up there in the MAD bubble.

WHAZ' HAPPENING
Cracked #147, December 1977
a: Powers (John Severin)

Darth Vader's appearance in one panel doesn't seem to make sense, even in the context of the whole issue, except in 1977 everyone put Star Wars characters in any free space they could.

WAATS HAPPENING?
Crazy #33, January 1978
a: Walter Brogan

Not sure if the artist didn't finish drawing Dee and the editors didn't notice or if the fact that she's just a head in the opening panel is supposed to be the bouncing ball in the opening credits. Either way it makes no sense and we'll never know.

There was an absentee father that appeared in a few shows. I don't think he looked like this and he doesn't even look the same from panel to panel in this parody.

The last panel is Robert Young from Father Knows Best.