Arleen Sorkin, the actress who starred on soap opera Days of Our Lives and who was the original actress and inspiration for DC Comics villain Harley Quinn, has died at 67.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Sorkin died after a decades-long battle with multiple sclerosis.
“We will always remember our dear Arleen for her immense generosity of spirit,” the family said in a statement. “Talented, yes, and dogged, too, as evidenced by her tenacious, decades-long fight with a terrible disease. But more than that, she was a loving presence in the lives of her two boys, Eli and Owen; her mother, Joyce; her brothers, Robert and Arthur; and the countless other children, old and young, whom she took under her beautiful wing over the years.”
“It’s a sad day for us, but a joyous one, too, knowing how many people today are summoning her memory and smiling.”
Born in Washington, D.C., on October 14, 1955. She had a major breakout role playing Calliope Jones Bradford on the NBC soap Days of Our Lives. Known for her wacky personality and collection of eccentric hats, Calliope provided comic relief on the soap during the 1980s.
Sorkin later said she came up with a lot of the character’s material herself: “I could never just come in and run my lines,” she told Vulture. “I was forever suggesting stuff, probably out of boredom!”
Sorkin’s performance was a fan favorite and she received two Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She was a regular on the soap between 1984 and 1990, making guest appearances in 1992, 2006 and 2010.
Sorkin also had a regular role on the sitcom Duet, playing the wisecracking maid of a yuppie couple. A screenwriter as well as an actress, Sorkin also wrote for the cartoon Tiny Toon Adventures and wrote the 1997 Jennifer Aniston film Picture Perfect.
But Sorkin’s greatest pop culture legacy is originating and inspiring the now-iconic DC Comics villainess Harley Quinn. Unlike most of Batman’s villains, Harley Quinn did not originate from the comments but was created for Batman: The Animated Series. Writer-producer Paul Dini based the character on Sorkin, his college friend, after seeing a scene on Days of Our Lives in which Calliope is dressed in a jester outfit.
He wrote the role as a wisecracking gun moll and sidekick to the villainous Joker; after taking inspiration from his old friend, he cast Sorkin to do the voice, and she originated the character’s distinct Yiddish-infused New York accent.
“We cast her and she did the voice and I think the voice added tremendously to the appeal of the character and she just became a funny character to write, so we could write a Joker story without Harley and it would still be good and we could feature Harley in her own little stories,” Timm told Hobo Trash Can. “‘So she became another player in the Batman villainous universe.”
A breakout character from the show, Sorkin continued to voice Harley in other animated DC projects until retiring in 2011; Harley Quinn has since gone on to be one of the most popular comic book characters ever and is the best-selling female character in comics. She has been played on screen by Margot Robbie and will be portrayed by Lady Gaga in a Joker sequel next year.
Mark Hamill, who voiced Joker on Batman: The Animated Series, praised his co-star after her passing. “Devastated to learn we’ve lost the brilliant Arleen Sorkin,” he wrote on Twitter. “Not just a wonderful talent, but a truly wonderful person. I’m grateful not only to have worked with her, but to have been her friend.”
“Rest in Peace, Arleen Sorkin, the incredibly talented original voice of Harley Quinn, who helped to create the character so many of us love,” wrote director James Gunn, the co-CEO of DC Studios. “Love to her family and friends.”
Sorkin was married to Christopher Lloyd, the TV producer of Frasier and Modern Family. They have two sons, Eli and Owen.
Rest in peace to the great Arleen Sorkin, an unforgettable part of Days of Our Lives and the inspiration for one of the biggest comic book characters ever.
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