Arleen Sorkin

Arleen Sorkin (born October 14, 1955 in Washington, D.C.) was an American actress, screenwriter, presenter, voice-over actor and comedian. Sorkin is known for portraying Calliope Jones on the NBC daytime series Days of our Lives and for voicing (and partially inspiring) Harley Quinn (who's now voiced by Tara Strong) in Batman: The Animated Series and the many animated series and video games that followed it.

Life and Career
Sorkin began her career in cabaret in the late 1970s and early '80s as a member of the "all-female" comedy troupe "The High-heeled Women". (Sorkin's other three fellow cast members were: Mary Fulham, Tracy Berg and Cassandra Danz.) Later, she went on to be the original female co-host of America's Funniest People (opposite Dave Coulier). She also wrote for Tiny Toon Adventures.

in 1992, Sorkin was dismissed from AFP (America's Funniest People) by the show's creator Vin Di Bona. In response, Sorkin filled a lawsuit against Di Bona. claiming that she was dismissed from the show due to her race, after ABC Chairman Dan Burke had suggested to Di Bona that Sorkin be replaced by an African-American or a person of ethnic minority. Sorkin sought $450,000 for lost earnings, and an additional unspecified amount for harm to her professional reputation and emotional injury. Sorkin additionally claimed that after she denounced the move as being radically motivated. Di Bona changed plans and hired new co-host Tawny Kitaen, who is also white.

One of her most prominent roles was the wacky but lovable Calliope Jones, as seen on Days of our Lives. She played this part from 1984 until 1990 and has made return visits in 1992 and 2001 respectively. In addition, on February 24, 2006, she reprised her role on the soap for the fourth time and on May 5, 2010, she has return to the series for a limited run.

Many comic book fans know her as the voice of Harley Quinn, The Joker's ditzy sidekick and lover. a friend of Sorkin's who created Harley for the TV series Batman: The Animated Series, has said in several interviews that he based Harley on her personality and asked her to play the part. Harley later appeared in the 1999 one-shot comic book Batman: Harley Quinn. Her character also appeared in other animated television shows such as: The New Batman Adventures, Static Shock and Justice League, as well as the internet cartoon series Gotham Girls. Sorkin has also voiced Harley in both feature films and video games containing the character. Sorkin's version of the character proved so popular that she was eventually added to the new Batman comic book canon. Sorkin has since retired from voicing Quinn and was replaced by fellow "B:TAS" voice actor Tara Strong for Batman: Arkham City, released in 2011.

Lesser known is her work on the sitcom Frasier (which her then husband, Christopher Lloyd, produced). On the July 7, 2012 Kevin Smith podcast, Fatman on Batman. Sorkin said that she would perform as a caler to Frasier Crane's radio show; the lines would then later be re-dubbed over by a celebrity caller. In the final episode of Frasier, Sorkin has an on-screen part as the owner of a monkey.

Show appeared
America's Funniest People