City Controller Wendy Gruel shaves the head of LAPD Lt. Greg Doyle at Fire Station 89 this morning. Close to 200 heads of firefighters and police officers during St. Baldricks day in the annual event to raise money and pledges to support kids who have cancer and lose thier hair during treatment. Doyle's son Will has been cancer free for 8 years. (Photo by Mike Meadows)

William Doyle was just 4 years old when he was diagnosed with Pleuropulmonary blastoma, a rare form of lung cancer.

That was in 2002, and doctors didn't think the North Hills boy would make it past his fifth birthday.

It was the same year that his father, Lt. Greg Doyle of LAPD's Devonshire Division, first shaved his head to show solidarity with his son, who had lost his hair to chemotherapy treatments, and to raise money for St. Baldrick's Foundation, a global charity aimed at funding research to find cures for childhood cancers.

Nearly nine years later, William, now 12, got his own healthy brown locks shaved off to raise money for other kids with cancer on Saturday at the ninth annual local St. Baldrick's event in North Hollywood.

"It feels pretty cool," said William, who watched as his dad's salt-and-pepper hair get buzzed off. "It's really funny to watch, just because I'm not used to it when all his hair is gone and stuff."

Although his son has been healthy for years, Doyle still continues to get his head shaved to give himself a tangible feeling of helping fight childhood cancers.

"As first responders, we're used to having problems we can solve," said Doyle, a 20-year veteran of the force who has co-organized local events in North Hollywood for the last four years. "To have a sick kid at the hospital, with cancer, there's really not a lot you can do.

"It gave me a feeling that I was able to do something."

More than 200 "shavees," most of whom were firefighters and police officers, sat themselves down on stools at Fire Station 89 in North Hollywood on Saturday and let clippers bare their heads.

"It's phenomenal," said Kathleen Ruddy, executive director of St. Baldrick's. "I think they're used to being heroes, and to stepping up, and to doing dangerous things. They are used to helping out the underdogs. And kids with cancer are the underdogs in our community."

Kids and adults had heads shaved at FS 89 this morning. The annual St. Baldricks Day event raised over $75,000 in pledges in support of kids with cancer. (Photo by Mike Meadows)

The event had aimed to raise $60,000 for St. Baldrick's, but as walk-ons steadily trickled in in what's been the biggest turnout to date, organizers expected that number to reach about $75,000.

Since 2000, St. Baldrick's has raised more than $101 million globally for childhood cancer research. Last year, 38,290 heads were shaved, including those of 3,900 women, the most in St. Baldrick's history, according to the organization.

So far this year, more than 29,000 shavees, including 3,300 women, have registered to get their locks sheared.

Among them was Alma Bretado, a La Crescenta administrative assistant who braved the clippers to get her dark, chin-length hair shorn to the amazement of women nearby.

"They're not cutting off an arm or leg," Bretado said. "Hair will come back."

As her locks fell to the ground, the crowd clapped and cheered, and she received a hug from Dot-Marie Jones of hit show "Glee," who was wielding the clippers.

"It's an amazing cause," said Jones, adding that she has more than 20 nieces and nephews.

"The thought of any of them being sick, and any kid being sick, really, is devastating. So I want to do what I can."

Despite not having friends or family who have cancer, Bretado said she felt strongly about the cause.

"As a mother, I would never want any mother (to) suffer seeing their child going through any type of treatment. We suffer even when they have a cold," said Bretado, who estimated that it would take about seven months for her hair to grow back.

"I can't even know what they're going through with that type of treatment," she said. "I hope they find a cure before this continues.

"It's just gotta be stopped."