The voice acting world is in mourning as Arleen Sorkin, the original Harley Quinn voice actress and inspiration for the character, has passed away at the age of 67.
The news of Sorkin’s death came from fellow voice actor Neil Kaplan. “It broke my heart to hear… the original voice of Harley Quinn, [Arleen] Sorkin has passed away,” said Kaplan on Twitter. “I adored her work as HQ & as Calliope in Days of Our Lives.”
Sorkin originally made waves on television playing Calliope Jones in the soap opera Days of Our Lives. She would play the role from 1984 through 1990 and reprise it several times with the most recent being in 2010. She also served as the co-host of America’s Funniest People from 1990 to 1992.
Sorkin would become a voice acting icon by voicing Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series. She also served as the inspiration for the character as it was her college friend Paul Dini who created Joker’s sidekick. Sorkin would voice Quinn in The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Gotham Girls, Static Shock, and Justice League in subsequent years. She also voiced the character in several video games, including Batman: Arkham Asylum, and in the movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
ComingSoon sends condolences to Sorkin’s friends and family during this difficult time.