Arleen Sorkin, the voice actress for Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series, died on August 24 at the age of 67.
DC Studios Co-Chairman James Gunn confirmed the story to The Hollywood Reporter on Saturday night, sharing on Instagram: “RIP Arleen Sorkin, the incredibly talented original voice of Harley Quinn who helped create the character created that so many of us love. Lots of love to her family and friends.”
Arleen Sorkin was born on October 14, 1955 in Washington, DC. She began her stage career in the 70’s with comedy and cabaret. She began working for television in 1984, starring in the soap opera Days of Our Lives, one of the longest-running television series in America, with well over 14,000 episodes to date. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 1988 and 1989 for her acting performance.
More importantly, Sorkin’s wacky character, Calliope Jones, served as a direct inspiration for Harley Quinn, as Paul Dini and Bruce Timm in the iconic and fan-favorite animated Batman series (originally ran 1992-1995, with additional seasons coming 1997- 1999) invented a bubbly girlfriend for the Joker. The merry, slightly off-track Harley was later transferred to Batman’s comic universe and has long been established as a film character. When recording Harley’s voice, Sorkin spoke in her normal Brooklyn accent, but added a spark of Yiddish slant. In the German version, the character is dubbed by Micaëla Kreissler in the first seasons of , later by Ela Nitzsche.
Harley Quinn is one of the most popular characters in the Batman universe
Sorkin made her debut in 1992 in the tenth episode of the first season entitled “Joker’s Favor.” Although only one appearance was initially planned, Sorkin and especially Harley Quinn continued to be employed due to overwhelming audience reactions. The character appeared in eight more episodes through 1994. Sorkin also voiced Harley Quinn in such animated series as The New Batman Adventures, Gotham Girls, and Justice League. Her talent has also been used in video games such as Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009). Sorkin’s last role as Harley Quinn was in the game DC Universe Online in 2011.
From 1987 to 1989, Sorkin appeared on the FOX sitcom Duet. She also wrote screenplays on the side, for example for the Steven Spielberg-produced “Tiny Toon Adventures” (which will soon be experiencing a revival). In 1997, she scripted the Jennifer Aniston film Picture Perfect. In 2011, she received a Peabody Award for her work on the documentary “Bhutto” about former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007.