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This weekend, a voice from my childhood went silent.

Arleen Sorkin, the first actor to portray iconic DC villain Harley Quinn, passed away at 67 years old.

How often I sat, as a kid, transfixed by the opening theme of "Batman: The Animated Series." And when it was an episode featuring Sorkin, you knew it was going to be special.

What a joy, and rarity, it was to hear the cadence of an authentic Brooklyn accent in a superhero cartoon. Indeed, it was similar to many of the voices I had heard growing up among family members.

Not only did Sorkin clock in the most air-time as Harley, but she was also the inspiration for the character in the first place. Her college pal, Paul Dini, was a co-creator of the Batman show. He based the character of "Harleen Quinzel" on Sorkin, who played a jester in a dream sequence on the daytime soap opera "Days of Our Lives."

Sorkin would go on to voice Harley over the course of about three decades — episodic television, feature-length movies and video games.

To those who are only familiar with Margot Robbie's portrayal in live-action films, check out the episode "Mad Love" on Max, the Warner Bros. Discovery streamer. Harley Quinn does something her maniacal boss/love interest, the Joker (Mark Hamill), never could — defeat The Dark Knight. You go in thinking it's just another Saturday morning cartoon. But Sorkin and Dini managed to tell a horrific, powerful, and yet thought-provoking story about a toxic relationship in just 22 minutes.

Here, Hamill laments the loss of his late acting partner:

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Image: Pixabay