Mark Sheeler dies at 92; actor won cult fame for schlocky ‘From Hell It Came’

Mark Sheeler, an actor who achieved a measure of cult fame for his role in the 1957 schlock horror film “From Hell It Came,” has died at age 92.

Sheeler died from complications of a stroke at Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills on Aug. 6, his family said.

Fans of the low-budget thriller remember Sheeler as a sergeant stationed on a tiny South Seas island who shouts “Holy Mackerel” when he and a group of scientists discover that a tree monster has plundered the communications room.

One of his scenes was featured in “It Came From Hollywood,” a 1982 film featuring Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Gilda Radner and other comedians viewing and commenting on notorious B movies including “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die,” “Creature From the Black Lagoon” and “Reefer Madness.”

Sheeler was born in New York on April 24, 1923. After serving as an aerial photographer in the Air Force during World War II, he began acting in such 1950s television shows as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon” and “The Ford Television Theatre.”

He suspended his acting career in 1960 and spent more than three decades as a wedding photographer and running the graphics units at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

He returned to acting in his 70s, appearing in “Mad About You,” “ER,” “Chicago Hope” and other series. He also appeared as a stodgy old banker in a series of commercials for Washington Mutual.