Santa Ana : Bartender Turns UGLY to Raise Money for Charity

Some people will do anything for money, and John Hankey of Tustin proved it.

Hankey said he would shave his noggin hairless if doing so would raise another $1,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis research fund as part of the “UGLY (Unbelievable, Generous, Lovable You) Bartender” fund-raising effort.

Several Orange County bars and restaurants sponsor the UGLY Bartender effort annually to raise money for the fund. The Factory, an Italian restaurant in Santa Ana that is co-owned by Hankey, raised $1,987.77.

“The restaurant has sort of a clubhouse atmosphere and there was very little doubt in my mind the money would be raised,” Hankey said. “Once I told them (patrons) and the final amount was counted up, there was no backing out.

“ ‘Tis a far, far better deed I do than I have ever done before. ‘Tis a far, far better place I sit than I have ever sat before,” Hankey said Tuesday, paraphrasing very loosely the last line of “A Tale of Two Cities,” after being transported on a chair “king style” to the shearing arena. But Hankey didn’t suffer nearly as badly under the blade as Dickens’ tragic hero did in the book.

About 70 people crammed into the restaurant-bar to watch Hankey be publicly shorn by hairdresser Jan Timko. Prior to the mane event, six men were dewhiskered for a $10 donation each and one man was shaved for $35. Locks of Hankey’s hair were sold for $1 and a designated “Insult Chairman” charged $1 for every insult flung in the bar that night.

Hankey says that he plans to stay bald for a month and that he grew a beard to “sort of compensate.”

“I’ve actually gotten a lot of favorable responses. Girls kind of like it, and me being single, staying hairless is definitely a consideration.”