>> failure. >> song and dance man who started a classic tv series. did you ever imagine being married to mary tyler moore? >> in a different life, different world it would have worked out very well. >> movies loved by generations. tonight he's here. this is "piers morgan tonight." >> rather nerve-racking time for my guests here. one is about to win "celebrity apprentice." somebody that has already won that competition, the best person to know just what hel they have been through so far. country singer john rich and marlee matlin. welcome, both of you. >> thank you. >> i know what you have been through. i was there in the treng much before you. it is a -- nightmare at apprentice. >> the stress, the strain. >> ex-caution is what i never anticipated. i think the fans at home think -- it is one task a week. no big deal. in real time as you know, it is relentless every single day, 16, 18 hours a day. >> marlee, it is very stressful, isn't it? >> extremely stressful. it is nonstop round-the-clock. if you want to eat you have to find your time to eat. they don't make time for you to eat. that's how you lose weight on the show. that's how i lost weight on the show. they don't tell you what to expect when you get there. you have no anticipation. you just do it. you know what, we went with the flow. >> a kind of torture. i said this to donald trump. the producers make you more and more exhausted. trying to break down your defenses and get you emotionally and physically shattered. >> translator: yet, it is up to you whether you want to take it that way. you say to yourself this is what i want. yes. i'm here for my charity. i just have to go with it. this is what kept me going. it is the charity. it is the money. like you are being greedy for your charity. you have to take care of yourself and drink water and eat. you have to do whatever it is, as much as you can, in the time that you are given. but you have to say to yourself focus and do what you can. >> how much did you both raise? what were the charities? >> i raised $1 million and an additional 50,000. i raised $70,000 on the other charities. >> i'm just under $800,000 for st. jude's and another $130,000 for other charities. it is an immense amount of money raised this season. >> i remember when i did it, raised just under $800,000. it does -- although you don't only do it for the charity, there are other reasons. it certainly makes you feel good when you can raise that kind of money, doesn't it? >> translator: exactly. i mean, but for me, it -- the whole point for me was to do it for charity. clearly it is exposure. people want to see what you can do beyond what they expect. what you might do in your career. i'm an actor. i'm also an author. i'm a mom. i'm a producer. i have never been a graphic designer. i have never made pizza in my life like the way we had to make pizza. i never had to run an ad or shoot a commercial. it was great to be able to -- give me sort of validate that i'm able to learn and do other things other than what i'm used to doing. >> i'm worried when i die all the it will say man who sold hot dogs died. >> i thought that about you. >> you obviously -- trace adkins, fellow country singer. it struck me when donald trump invited me back for last week's episode when he was trying to countdown to four contestants to the two, and -- he told me to go after everybody and get under your skin. what i found impressive about both of you, why i recommended both of you, you were both very cool under fire. this was despite the fact you have been through this hellish ordeal. new particular. mocked your hat, the famous texan hat. you still have none of it. ice cool. >> i walked through the streets of new york city in a cowboy hat and here yee-haw. where i come from, it is part of the culture. it is not a fad where i come from. honestly, i knew you were there to grill us and to go at us like that. we had been through so much as it was. it was no way i was going to crack under anything. i knew i wanted to be in the final two. and go for the last quarter of a million for st. jude, period. i had my game face on big time for that. >> i remember you asked me, marlee, what's the advantage -- have you done a good job and won money. but -- people might think you are -- you know, you are having advantage by having an interpreter. wait a minute, i can't communicate without an interpreter. how is that an advantage and sit there to try to read everybody's lips? i would be totally lost. he was like an octopus. i needed to understand who was talking. who was yelling. who was thinking. who wasn't thinking. that's what an interpreter is for. >> here is the extraordinary thing about what i'm watching now. this struck me when i came back in to judge the final four. i have never seen anything like you two. i mean, i know you worked together for 20 years. but have you this kind of real-time relationship which allows to you have a completely normal conversation. >> translator: as you said, we worked for 25 years together. first of all, jack has deaf parents. sign language is his first language. secondly, as you said, we work together perhaps 12, not 24/7 but he missouri what i'm thinking. i'm always watching jack. >> does it give you an advantage that the others heard you speaking in a male voice? >> translator: perhaps because they see me signing and they know that it is -- me talking. i don't -- i think if i had a female voice it would have associated that voice with me but having a male voice it makes it clear that's the message but i'm the one that's speaking. and -- you know, it is not -- i'm not just taking advantage of signs and thinking fine. i'm comfortable. i'm always having to pay attention. i sometimes, you know, catch him when he messes up and i ask him to please say it again. >> when i interviewed you, i was intimidated. all this sign language, you do it in such a bang-bang way. >> translator: it is how i speak. hearing people a lot of times don't think -- they don't -- maybe they have never seen a deaf person or moving their hands. they are like fascinated. like kids learning something new. it comes quickly to most. i'm just used to it. i'm used to it. >> how important is this man to you? >> translator: this man here? well -- well. no. this man -- play as big role in my life because -- not only is he a good friend and he runs my production company, he is -- i mean, he is my confidant. he is -- it is important to have him there, not on a personal level. completely separate. >> how embarrassed does he get when he has to talk about himself in the third person like this? >> translator: he loves it when he hears his own voice talking about himself. >> it is an extraordinary thing to witness. >> incredible when i was trying to think if i was on "the apprentice" this season watching marlee interacting with 14, 16 people and hold her own and win challenges, remarkable thing. >> without a doubt. i don't think anybody thinks anything other than what you said, she is a remarkable person, period. i mean, really, really impressive. and to -- to watch this -- >> amazing. >> i look at it as like a privilege to -- experience being around such a relationship. because -- how many people have ever seen something like this in person? it is incredible. >> translator: it happens every day. >> but you don't get the opportunity to witness it firsthand. >> you say that. i think the really important thing i thought after meeting you and see thing in action, is the incredible power of you as a role model now for deaf people in america. i mean, incredible. this show must have transformed that view. >> translator: there are 35 deaf and hard of hearing people in the united states. 35 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the united states. if you think about how many people -- then add that to the kids, all those people who might need hearing aids, all those kids to make sure they -- they have the opportunity for access to communication, to education, to have -- the opportunities kids who can hear to get equal rights, just like anyone else, it is a large number of people. and -- we are talking about adults as well, too. >> the other great advantage you had as i pointed out on sunday of the show you couldn't hear all the terrible screaming and hollering going on. >> translator: that's the advantage. hi that advantage all my life. >> meatloaf, garey busey, star jones. >> translator: i could see it. i could see the crying and getting in each other's face. i was like my goodness. i would turn my head and not look at jack. >> i can see amarossa. i wish i hadn't been able to hear her. you got so close. in the end, quarter of a million dollars goes to a charity, really big deal. isn't it? >> it is bigger than big. i'm playing for st. jude children's research hospital. this is a place in memphis where -- kids with cancer that they don't even have names for the kind of cancer they have because it is such a horrible disease that continues to morph into new forms of cancer. they treat kids that insurance won't cover. that can't afford to be treated. they take the hardest cases in. regardless of where they come from. it is also a research center. they have treatments for cancers that the treatments don't have names yet. they are a serial number. and they take these kids in and the majority of them come out and survive this situation. it is huge. what they do. >> are you surprised how -- competitive you have came in this competition in the sense much wanting to win? >> what i'm surprised is that -- and you have -- you never think of reality tv show would give you a life lesson but it truly lass to me. you can ask my friends. they will tell you. i feel like this was the -- first time in my life i was able to take all the things i built for myself and leverage them on behalf of someone else and myself in this case, st. jude. there were things i wanted to say to people, things i wanted to engage normally i would if it was just me and them. i chose not to because i was than there for me. i was truly there for the charity. it made me a better person. it really did happen and was a gear shift right in my heart. >> let's take a short break. i want to talk to you about what you learned about yourself from the process of being in "celebrity apprentice." i know i did. ♪ [ male announcer ] in 2011, at&t is at work, building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. the authentic, the rare, the hard to define. to those always searching for what's pure and what's real from we who believe we know just how you feel. haagen-dazs. [ slap! slap! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums vegas! now?! [ female announcer ] two hours to vegas. two hours to whiten. ♪ crest whitestrips two hour express. in just two hours you can have a noticeably whiter smile that lasts for months. ♪ hi. hi. where you guys headed? i think we're here. [ female announcer ] whitening without the wait. 3d white two hour express whitestrips...from crest. life opens up when you do. and try 3d white toothpaste and rinse. that's really good! it tastes good, so there can't be fiber in it! it's actually got about half a day's worth of fiber. [ fiber seeker ] really? try it. [ mr. mehta ] honey, touch of brown sugar, crunchy clusters -- any cardboard? [ male announcer ] cardboard no, delicious yes. oh, just booked a summer vaycay. ooo. sounds pricey? nah, with the hotels.com summer sale, you can find awesome deals for places nearby. interesting... wow, i'm blown away. you look great. hotels.com summer sale, save up to 30%. and get a free kindle. hotels.com. be smart. book smart. my special guests, marlee matlin and john rich from "celebrity apprentice." this remains an extraordinary thing to watch. i think viewers watching this, i think later will tell how they can help with your charity and your charity. it is going to help a lot of deaf people in this country. it is great to see. let me ask you both what you learned about yourselves for taking part in "celebrity apprentice." you said brutal competition. reality tv. hard work. mental challenges. competition with erratic people. what did you learn about your self-s and your character? >> translator: i think -- welcoming into the show i knew i would be -- i would try to first raise as much money as i could for my charity. start the hearing foundation in minnesota. then i wanted to make sure that all these kids got the hearing aids. kids that can't afford them. whether they are in the united states -- that's the first thing i knew in my head. that's the purpose i came to the show. as for me as an actor, as an author, as whatever, being a mom, wife, i knew all of that. bring that skill set. once the show started, i thought okay, this also involves working with people. you have to help them as much as they have to help you. and you have all sorts of different personalities. all sorts of people coming to the table. i think what i learned about myself is that i never really totally listened to myself so much, focused on myself so much, so intensely, and had an opportunity to look at who sxim why i'm here and why i want to do this or why i want to listen to this person as i did on the show and whether this was right or wrong. this is how i think. bottom line is i learned that i have had become extremely unselfish and that -- i amex -- am ex-treatmently -- it is not about me. >> you had a tough life. i read your book a couple of years ago. you -- in that you detailed a couple of times when you were young, when you were molested, once by female baby-sitter and once by a male teacher. you went into a heavy drug period part of which you ascribe to that period you were molested. you had a decent relationship with william hurt. you have been through a lot. and -- i was curious to see knowing that background to you, how tough you were in this competition. how emotionally strong. people like meatloaf -- you kept tough. kept focused. that -- that surprised and impressed me given what you have been through. >> translator: all of the things that you have mentioned and that i have gone through has given me thick skin as an individual. and anything else that might come my way, i mean if you are speaking about whatever it is, i know exactly what is going out there. it is all there on the table. and whatever happens on this show, i mean, it is like a piece of cake. you can't compare it. not at all. so i think that is why i grew up -- i grew up quickly. and i grew up more -- knowing that it is not about me. i guess at the end of the day. it is about deaf kids. it is about the deaf world. simple as that. i think that's one advantage i have. >> john, you said the same thing about your charity. always for the charity, back of your mind. i get that feeling. i went down to san antonio, texas, and saw these incredibly badly wounded soldiers. raising the money for. it was one of the most moving things i have done in my life. to actually see the people who would benefit from this fund-raising. i needed no more galvanizing to try to win the competition. but i also know about myself that -- you know, when it comes to -- i was incredibly competitive to win that. forget everything else. i wanted to win. by the end i had been through so much. i see it in both of you. that same thing. >> it will push you to new levels of -- competitiveness. truly believe that. you know. i want to win this competition. i want that quarter of a million dollars. i want it. i want to take that check to the kids at st. jude. i can tell you that i think part of my ability to get this far was the way i was raised and i believe in god. i believe in country. i believe in kids. my dad is a preacher. i grew up in west texas. we worked and scrapped for everything we had. and hard work and our hard work ethic is how i had been raised my entire life. thanks to my parents. >> i read that -- you know, you have said publicly that you have written songs which your father has been offensive and you haven't recorded them. >> right. yeah. i mean, i respect his opinion. i said if you think this song is something that is too much and going to embarrass, you know, you or anyone else i will never record it. absolutely. respect is something that's missing in this world. you have to respect. >> you are being very respectful on the show despite provocation. you have to have respect in this world. as early as today, i called lady yes, ma'am. she said ma'am? what -- i said, well, where i come from, we refer to ladies as ma'am. and -- i can compete all day with marlee. trust me, i have hell at my heels. i'm coming at this lady and we will battle it out and somebody will emerge victorious. it has nothing to do with do i respect marlee matlin. i have mad respect for this woman. she is a ma'am as far as i'm concerned. >> we only have one ma'am in england. the queen. she is the only laid who is called ma'am. just as a little aside. >> i will make sure i try not to say that when i visit. >> marlee, i mean, it is interesting. i was reading again this morning about you. one of the more amusing aspects. you found happiness with your husband, you have four children. yet, you have been here. while you have been doing this show by -- a big financial crisis in your life. haven't you? >> translator: the financial crisis, it is what it is. it is funny because -- streets not funny. but -- one thing i'm glad about is that when i found out that a newspaper decided to poke into m.i.a. tax issues and they -- called me and asked for my response. i know what's going on in my life. i know what i'm doing. i know what i am not able to do at that time. people somehow thought i was surprised by it. no. i made payment plans. and i announced it before they did. i was glad to take care of the message. >> just to remind people, it is -- a $50,000 tax bill you got behind on. have you had to sell your house. >> no, i'm paying for and it keeping my house. i'm not losing the house. there is no lien at this point that makes me want to lose -- the $50,000 is a lot of money. but -- it is -- compared to a lot of people in the entertainment business that are in millions of dollars, it is my business and i chose and i'm a proud american that's paying it back and made payment plans. listen, i worked my butt off every day throughout my career. it is not easy for work to come to me. i have to really work and that's why i'm always going to motivational speeches, that's why i'm having to leave my kids, whether it is their school play because i have to work. i do have to work. i'm going to continue to work but for those americans, i am paying my taxes and i am paying my $50 thousand back. don't worry, i'm not going to jail. i'm not going to jail. my kids and husband are fine. thank you very much. >> nicely said. you didn't even say it he really. i got it. he had to say it. we will take another short break. i want to ask you what you think this will do for your careers going forward. because it does have an amazing effect. i'm sitting here. [ male announcer ] nature is unique... pure... and also delicious. like nature valley. granola bars made with crunchy oats and pure honey. nature valley -- 100% natural. 100% delicious. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ :20011231][v♪ you were the last to be born in a family of 7 brothers. that's why you had to sleep on the seventh bunk bed and you developed vertigo, and that's why you couldn't become a pilot and you had to stu