TIL: The inspiration for Harley Quinn

Watch the soap opera inspiration for Harley Quinn

In 1987, Arleen Sorkin played a bizarre dream jester on the classic soap opera Days of our Lives. Watch above. Several years later, that curious character became the inspiration for Harley Quinn on Batman: The Animated Series. Naturally, Sorkin voiced Ms. Quinn.

Arleen Sorkin went to the same college as Paul Dini, who’d later go on to write Batman: The Animated Series, and they became friends. She passed him a VHS tape of her fave Days moments, including her jester performances. Years later, Dini rewatched that VHS while seeking inspiration for a female character for a BTAS episode featuring the Joker. Sorkin’s jester was the spark that gave rise to Harley Quinn, and the rest is comics (and TV, and film) history.