On Aug. 24, Arleen Francis Sorkin, the daughter of the late Dr. Irving Sorkin and Joyce Sorkin, passed away. Arleen was born on Oct. 14, 1955 and grew up in Washington, D.C. Arleen graduated from Bethesda Chevy Chase High School and went on to graduate from Emerson College. She moved to New York City after college and supported herself doing commercials and performing in commercials and in the comedy troupe, The High-Heeled Woman.
Eventually, she moved to Los Angeles, and among her many successes, she won the role of Calliope on Days of Our Lives, which she played from 1984-1990, and received two Emmy nominations for her portrayal. Arleen was the originator of the favorite villainess Harley Quinn, on the Batman Animated Series.
She co-wrote the movie, Picture Perfect, starring Jennifer Anniston, and produced the documentary Bhutto, for which she won a Peabody Award. Her father, a dentist, read a story about Vivian Thomas in the Washingtonian Magazine in 1989.
Vivian was a laboratory supervisor who developed a procedure used to treat blue baby syndrome in the 1940s and Dr. Sorkin felt very strongly this story be known to the masses. Arleen helped bring her father’s dream to fruition by getting this story made into a movie for HBO, titled Something the Lord Made. The movie won him a Peabody Award as co-producer.
After members of Arleen’s family and very close friends were diagnosed with breast cancer, she joined the National Breast Cancer Coalition. She was instrumental in bringing the cause to Hollywood so it would get the much-needed attention it deserved.
Arleen knew that was the way to help get the government funding for earlier diagnosis and more innovative treatments.
Arleen belonged to several synagogues in LA and was involved in many Jewish causes.
Arleen bravely struggled with MS and when she became bedridden, yet she still managed to accomplish more from her bed than the most healthy people.
Arleen left this world peacefully, surrounded by those she loved most. She leaves behind her beloved husband, Christopher Lloyd, and two adored sons, Eli Lloyd and Owen Lloyd, her mother, Joyce Sorkin, two brothers, Dr. Arthur Sorkin and Robert Sorkin, her nephew, Daniel Sorkin, and niece, Gina Sorkin, and numerous cousins and close friends who loved her truly, deeply, and forever.
