Arleen Sorkin, the actor best known for originating the voice of Harley Quinn on Batman: The Animated Series, has died. No further details of Sorkin’s passing have been made available, though DC Studios’ boss James Gunn and her Batman: The Animated Series co-star Mark Hamill have posted tributes to her. She was 67.
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Born in 1955, Sorkin got her Hollywood start appearing in an uncredited role in John Landis’ Trading Places in 1983. Her big break came the very next year, landing the role of Calliope Jones in Day of Our Lives. Sorkin appeared on the soap for nine years between 1984 and 2010, with various breaks between her stints. Her last live-action acting credit was a 2010 episode of the show.
Before her days as one of DC’s most recognizable characters, Quinn first appeared as a henchman of Mark Hamill’s Joker. According to a previous anecdote from Hamill, the character was initially set to be a one-off until the makers of the show saw Sorkin’s performance.
“She had no specific name in the script… just Joker’s Hench-Wench,” Hamill wrote in 2021. “I’ll never forget hearing Arleen voice her for the 1st time. We were all knocked out by her performance & knew we were witnessing greatness. #BirthOfAnIcon Thank you, Arleen! from your [Joker emoji]”
The late Kevin Conroy has praised Sorkin’s work as well, telling us in 2017 the character was modeled after Sorkin’s comedy act.
“I mention that because Paul Dini created the role of Harley Quinn for Arleen Sorkin, who’s an incredible comedic actor,” he explained. “She does character work, and she just nailed it. I mean, that sort of gum-chewing, wise ass, “Joisey” broad, but crazy at the same time.
“And then Tara Strong came along and just did a slightly different tweak on it, but was brilliant. And now the most recent film version is with Melissa Rauch, and she nails it. But it’s so interesting to see different people. No one is better than anyone else, it’s just different takes on the same thing. It’s just so interesting to see different people give their kind of take on the character.”
Sorkin is survived by her husband, writer Christopher Lloyd, and their two sons Eli and Owen.
