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Mourners are gathering from both Salem and Gotham City in the wake of heartbreaking news. Days of Our Lives alum Arleen Sorkin has passed away at the age of 67.
Longtime soap fans know that Sorkin debuted on Days of Our Lives back in 1984 as the unforgettable Calliope Jones. The actress took the character from seamstress to restaurant hostess to talk show host — and even to robotic territory, in android form! Paired with John de Lancie’s Eugene, Calliope was classic comic relief and always embroiled in over-the-top high jinks.
Little did anyone know way back then that Calliope would eventually birth an even more memorable and shenanigans-prone character — DC Comics’ Harley Quinn. (More formally known as Dr. Harleen Quinzel.) Seeing Sorkin play Calliope as a court jester in a Days of Our Lives dream sequence involving Shane and Kim led Batman: The Animated Series creators Paul Dini and Bruce Timm to pen a role just for her! She made her voice acting debut as the Joker’s devoted henchwoman — and Poison Ivy’s future girlfriend — in 1992. And look at where we are now, Mistah J — with hundreds of comic-book appearances, video games, a whole Harley Quinn animated show airing on Max and Margot Robbie playing her on the big screen!
In fact, it was DC co-head James Gunn who confirmed the actress’ passing, writing on Instagram, “Rest in peace, Arleen Sorkin, the incredibly talented original voice of Harley Quinn, who helped to create the character so many of us love. Love to her family and friends.”
But Sorkin never forgot her daytime roots. Even as Harley took on a life of her own with long-lasting cultural impact, the actress returned to Days of Our Lives several times. Calliope came back to Salem in 2006 to plan some ill-fated weddings — Alex and Marlena’s and Shawn-Douglas and Mimi’s. (The fact that these couples didn’t last obviously had nothing to do with Calliope’s skills as a wedding planner.) Soap viewers last saw her on screen in 2010, embroiled in antics with Anna and the feds — but she and Eugene live brightly in our minds even now.
“It was really wonderful,” Leann Hunley recently recalled to Soap Opera Digest. “Those were such good years when we were all together — Arleen, John, Thaao [Penghlis] and myself. We all jelled very well.”
Upon learning of Sorkin’s passing, Mark Hamill — the Joker to her Harley — tweeted, “Devastated to learn we’ve lost the brilliant Arleen Sorkin. 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.”
Whether you know her as a screenwriter, actress, comedian or pop culture phenomenon, there’s no denying that Arleen Sorkin was an icon. May her memory be a blessing.
