Sonny Caldinez (1 July 1932 – 12 April 2022) was a Trinidadian actor and professional wrestler.^[1] He was often cast in television and films for his great height and muscular physique. He appeared as various Ice Warriors on the British programme Doctor Who and also in films such as The Man with the Golden Gun, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ali G Indahouse, Arabian Adventure and The Fifth Element.^[2]

Caldinez played Ice Warriors in all four of the classic Doctor Who serials in which they appeared. His Ice Warrior roles include Turoc from The Ice Warriors, an unnamed Ice Warrior in The Seeds of Death, Ssorg in The Curse of Peladon and Sskel in The Monster of Peladon. He also appeared as Kemel in The Evil of the Daleks.^[3][4][5] Other television roles include Abdullah on Sexton Blake and the mulatto on The Return of Sherlock Holmes (episode "Wisteria Lodge").^[2][6]

Caldinez moved to the U.S. from Trinidad in 2011. He died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm in his personal campsite in La Push, Washington on 12 April 2022, at the age of 89.^[6][7]

Filmography

• A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967) – Wrestler (uncredited)
• White Cargo (1973) – Bodyguard
• The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) – Kra (uncredited)^[8]
• The Fosters – Series 2, Episode 1: "The Nude" (1977) – Clyde Davies^[9][10]
• Mind Your Language – (TV series) Season 1, episode 4 – Surinders' father (1977)
• Arabian Adventure (1979) – Nubian
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Mean Mongolian
• The Fifth Element (1997) – Emperor Kodar Japhet
• Ali G Indahouse (2002) – Ambassador (uncredited)

References

External links

• Sonny Caldinez at IMDb
• Sonny Caldinez discography at Discogs