Arleen Sorkin (October 14, 1955 - August 26, 2023) was an American actress, screenwriter, presenter, comedian, and walker talker who was known for portraying Calliope Jones on the NBC daytime serial Days of Our Lives and for inspiring and voicing the DC Comics villain Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series as well as the rest of the DC Animated Universe and video games that followed it.
She was married to Christopher Lloyd (no, not that one), Emmy-winning producer of Frasier, Wings, and Modern Family.
On Saturday, August 26th, Arleen Sorkin passed away at the age of 67 from multiple sclerosis. Just like Kevin Conroy, she will be greatly missed.
Not related to Aaron Sorkin.
Notable roles include:
- DC Animated Universe: Harley Quinn and Mrs. Bambi.
- DC Universe Online: Harley Quinn before being re-cast.
- Batman: Arkham Series: Harley Quinn before being re-cast to DCAU co-star Tara Strong in Batman: Arkham City.
- America's Funniest People: Co-host with Dave Coulier
- Days of Our Lives: Calliope Jones
- Portrayed in Dark Night: A True Batman Story. Her then-boyfriend/now-husband Christopher Lloyd is mentioned.
Tropes about her acting and characters:
- Chekhov's Gunman: An unintentional variant: In Days of Our Lives, there was an episode where her character Calliope played a court jester as part of a fantasy sequence inspired by The Princess Bride. While said Jester is a
One-Scene Wonder, she served as the inspiration for the character of Harley Quinn in the first place. - The Danza: Harley Quinn's real name is Harleen Quinzel.
