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PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT

"Celebrity Apprentice" Final Two; Interview With Dick Van Dyke

Aired May 20, 2011 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PIERS MORGAN, HOST: Well, tonight, something I know well and a lot about, winning "Celebrity Apprentice." Very soon, one of my guests will, too -- country singer John Rich and actress Marlee Matlin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Let's cut crap, shall we? You both want to kill each other in the final right?

MARLEE MATLIN, ACTRESS (through interpreter): Yes. Marlee said, yes, OK.

(CROSSTALK)

MORGAN: You want to kill each other in the final don't you?

JOHN RICH, COUNTRY SINGER: I don't know -- I don't think between want to kill each other, but I want to win. I want to win bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: I got some advice for them, the "Celebrity Apprentice" panelists and Dick Van Dyke, one of the funniest old guys in television history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: What did you think you'd be when you were young?

DICK VAN DYKE, COMEDIAN: A failure, a total starving (ph) failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Song and dance man who started an absolutely classic TV series.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Did you ever imagine being married to Mary Tyler Moore?

VAN DYKE: In a different life, different world, it would have worked out very well. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: As well movies loved by generations. Tonight, he's here.

This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT.

(MUSIC)

MORGAN: It's a very rather nerve wrecking time for my guests here because one of them is about to win "Celebrity Apprentice" and that somebody has already won that competition. I'm the best person to know what hell they have been through so far.

Joining me now is country singer John Rich, and actress Marlee Matlin, with her interpreter Jack Jason.

Welcome, both of you.

I know what you've been through. I was there in the trench before you. I mean it is a nightmare, isn't it, "Celebrity Apprentice"? The work load, the stress the strain. John, you go first.

RICH: Well, it's the -- yes, the exhaustion is what I never anticipated, you know, I think the fans at home think, oh it's one task a week, no big deal. But in real time, as you know, it's relentless every single day, 16, 18 hours a day. That's the thing that really caught me off guard.

MORGAN: And, Marlee, it's so stressful, isn't it?

MATLIN (through interpreter): It's extremely stressful. It's extreme -- it's non-stop, round the clock and 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.

It -- they don't tell you what to expect when you get there. You have no anticipation, you just do it, there's surprise, but you know what? We all went we the flow and we picked it up as we went along.

MORGAN: And it's a kind of torture. And I said this to Donald Trump, where the producers just make you more and more exhausted. They're trying to break down you defenses, they're trying to get you emotionally and physically shattered, aren't they?

MATLIN (through interpreter): And yet it's up to you whether you want to take it that way. You say to yourself, this what I want? Yes, I want it -- I'm here for my charity. So, I've just got to go with it. This is what kept me going.

It's the charity, it's the money. It's like you're being greedy for your charity, but you have to take care of yourself, you have to drink water, you have to eat. You have to do whatever it is as much as you can in the time that you're given. But you have to say to yourself: focus and do what you can.

MORGAN: How much did you both raise for your charity? And what were the charities?

MATLIN (through interpreter): I raised $1,150,000. Oh wait, a million and then the additional $50,000 that Seven Up gave us. So -- and then I raised $70,000 on behalf of the other charities that (INAUDIBLE) were playing for.

MORGAN: John?

RICH: I'm just under $800,000 for Saint Jude's Research Hospital, and then another $130,000 for other charities. So, it's an immense amount of money that was raised this season.

MORGAN: I mean, I remember when I did it; I think I raised just under $800,000 for The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. I know that you have certainly been involved with John.

I mean -- 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?

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well, exactly, I mean for me, the whole point for me was to do it for charity because I mean, 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. And I'm also an author, and I'm a mom and I'm a producer, but I've never been a graphic designer, and I've never made pizza in my life, like the way we had to make pizza and I've never had to run an ad or shoot a commercial, so it's 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 use to doing.

(CROSSTALK)

MORGAN: I'm worried that when I die, all the obituaries will say man who sold hot dogs with Gene Simmons and Lennox Lewis dies.

(LAUGHTER)

RICH: Don't most people think you're immortal? I mean that's what I thought. I thought that about you.

MORGAN: I mean, you, obviously -- I took on Trace Adkins in finale of my season who is a fellow country singer. And it shocked me when I tried to -- when Donald Trump invited me back for last weeks episode, when he tried to cut down from four contestants to the two, and he told me to really go after everybody, try and get under your skin.

And what I found impressive about both of you, why I recommended both of you to him was you were both very cool under fire. And this was despite the fact you'd been through this hellish ordeal. You, in particular and I even mocked you hat. The famous Texan Stetson and you still were having none of it. Ice cool.

RICH: Well, I walked through the streets of New York City in a cowboy hat and I hear yea-haw about every 20 seconds, you know? So, listen where I come from, Amarillo, Texas, it's part of the culture, you know? It's not a fad where I come from.

And, honestly, I knew you were there to grill us and to go at us like that and we'd 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 that last quarter of a million for Saint Jude, period. I had my game face on big time for that.

MATLIN (through interpreter): And I remember you asked me, Marlee -- you were very -- you said Marlee, what's the advantage of having -- I mean, you've done a good job and you've won money, and so forth and so on, but people might think you're, you know, having an advantage by having an interpreter, and I said, well, wait a minute. I can't communicate without an interpreter. So, how is that an advantage, and sit there and try to read everybody's lips, and I would be totally lost.

He was like an octopus. Jack had to sign for everyone. I needed to understand who was talking, who was yelling, who was thinking, who wasn't thinking, and that's what an interpreter is for.

MORGAN: Here's 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've worked together for 20 years, but you have this kind of symbiotic, real-time relationship which allows you to have a completely normal conversation.

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well as you said, we've worked for 25 years together. First of all, Jack has deaf parents. So, sign language is his first language. So that's where he takes advantage of being able to communicate and sign very well.

But secondly, as you said we worked together, perhaps 12/5, 18/5, not 24/7, but he knows exactly what I'm thinking in terms of -- I'm always watching Jack.

MORGAN: Does it give you an advantage that the others heard you speaking in a male voice?

MATLIN (through interpreter): Perhaps because they see me signing and they know that's it's me talking. I don't -- I think if I had a female voice it would've associated that voice with me, but having a male voice makes it so that that's the message, that I'm the one who's speaking.

And, you know, it's not -- I'm not just taking advantage of what he signs and thinking, OK, fine, I'm comfortable. I'm always having to pay attention, and I sometimes, you know, catch him when he messes up. And I ask him please say it again.

MORGAN: I was -- when I interviewed you, I was quite intimidated, because all of this kind of sign language you do it in such a bang-bang way I was like, hey --

MATLIN (through interpreter): You know, it's how I speak. Hearing people a lot of times don't think -- they don't -- maybe they've never seen a deaf person, maybe they've never seen a person moving their hands and they're like fascinated. They're like kids learning something new. But it comes really quickly to most. I mean, I'm just used to it. I'm really just used to it.

MORGAN: How important is this man to you?

MATLIN (through interpreter): This man here? Wow -- well, this man is -- plays a 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 and he is -- it's important to have him there, but not on a personal level. It's not -- it's completely separate, it's complete and pure business.

MORGAN: And how embarrassed does he get when he has to talk about himself in the third person like this?

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well, he loves it when he hears his own voice talking about him like that so --

(LAUGHTER)

RICH: That's great.

MORGAN: I mean, John, it's an extraordinary thing to witness.

RICH: Oh, incredible.

MORGAN: When I was trying to think if I'd been on "The Apprentice" this season, watching Marlee having to interact with 14, 16 people to start with and hold her own and win challenges, a remarkable thing.

RICH: Without a doubt. I don't think anybody that's ever met Marlee thinks anything other than what you just said. She's a remarkable person, period. I mean, really, really impressive and to watch this.

MORGAN: It's amazing, isn't it?

RICH: I look at it as kind of like a privilege to experience being around such a relationship because how many people have ever even seen something like this in person. It's incredible.

MORGAN: And what I --

(CROSSTALK)

MATLIN (through interpreter): I mean, it happens everyday. Deaf people --

RICH: No, I know it happens, but you don't get the opportunity to witness it first hand -- MORGAN: And I know you say that, Marlee, I think the really important thing, I thought after meeting you and seeing this 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 for you.

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well, there are 35 deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States and you're not talking about all the deaf people -- 35 million --

MORGAN: Thirty-five million.

MATLIN (through interpreter): Thirty-five million deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States. And so, if you think about how many people and then add that to the kids, which Starkey helps, all those people who might need hearing aides, all those kids, to make sure they have the opportunity for access to communication, to education, to have the opportunities that kids who can hear -- to get equal rights, just like anyone else, it's a large number of people. And we're talking about adults as well, too.

MORGAN: And the other great advantage you had, as I pointed out Sunday during the show, is that you couldn't hear all the terrible screaming and hollering going on from --

(CROSSTALK)

MATLIN (through interpreter): That's was the advantage that I've had -- I've had that advantage all my life.

MORGAN: I mean Meatloaf, Gary Busey, Star Jones -- I mean, they're all going completely crackers (ph).

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well no, but you have to -- I could see it. As much as you could hear it I could see them crying, I could see them getting in each other's face, and I was like, oh my goodness. But, what I would do is just conveniently turn my head and I look at Jack and --

MORGAN: But I could see Omorosa -- I just wish I hadn't been able to listen to her.

MATLIN (through interpreter): I'm sorry.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: John, what would it mean to you John to win now? You've gotten so close, but in the end there's only one winner. There's a quarter of a million dollars that could go to your charity, it's a really big deal, isn't it?

RICH: It's bigger than big. And I'm playing for Saint 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's such a horrible disease it continues to morph into these 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 and it's also a research center. So, they have treatments for cancers that -- the treatments don't even have names yet. They're just a serial number.

And they take these kids in and the majority of them come out and survive this situation. It's huge what they do.

MORGAN: Putting the charity to one side, are you surprised how competitive you became in this competition, in the sense of wanting to win?

RICH: What I'm surprised is that -- and you would never think a reality TV show would give you a life lesson, but it truly has to me. You could ask my friends, they'll tell you. I feel like this was the first time in my life I was able to take all the things that I'd built for myself and leverage them on behalf of someone else, something greater than myself in this case, Saint Jude.

There were things I wanted to say to people, things I wanted to engage that normally I would if it was just me and them, but I chose not to because I wasn't there for me, I was truly there for the charity. And it actually made me a better person playing on behalf of something bigger than me. And that really did happen and it really was a gear shift right in my heart, in this situation.

MORGAN: We're going to take a -- let's take a short break. When we come back I want to talk to you both about what you've learned about yourselves from the process of being in "Celebrity Apprentice," because I know I did.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: Back with my special guests Marlee Matlin and John Rich from "Celebrity Apprentice" and, Jack Jason. He's Marlee's interpreter, and this remains an extraordinary thing to watch.

And I think viewers watching this -- I think, later, we'll tell them how they can help with your charity, and your charity, but it's going to help a lot of deaf people in this country and it's great to see.

Let me ask you both what you learned about yourselves from taking part in "Celebrity Apprentice," because it's a brutal competition. It's realty TV at its most savage. Mostly incredibly hard work, mental challenges, competition with often erratic people what did you learn about yourselves and your character?

MATLIN (through interpreter): I think -- well, coming into the show, I knew that I would be -- I mean, I would first try to raise as much money as I can for my charity, which again is The Starkey Hearing Foundation based in Minnesota. And I wanted to make sure that all these kids got the hearing aides, those who can't afford them, whether they're in the United States or in developing countries. That's the first thing I knew in my head. That was the purpose I came to the show.

And as for me as an actor, as an author, as whatever and being a mom, a wife -- I knew all that, and bring those -- that skill set. But, once the show started, I thought, OK, this also involves working with people. And 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.

And I -- I think what I learned about myself is that I never really totally listened to myself so much, focused on myself so much intensely and had an opportunity to look at who I am and why I'm here and why I wanted to do this, and why I wanted to listen to this person as I did on the show.

And whether this was right and whether this is wrong, this is how I think. And bottom line is I learned that I have become extremely unselfish, and that I am extremely willing -- it's not about me. Basically at the end of the day, it's not about me.

MORGAN: Yes, but you've had a tough life. I mean, I read your book a couple of years ago. You know, in that, you detailed a couple of times when you were young when you were molested once by a female babysitter, once by a male teacher. You know, you then went into a heavy drug period, a part of which you describe to that period when you were molested.

You had a very abusive relationship with William Hurt that you talked about very frankly -- a lot of physical violence. You've 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 -- as people like Meatloaf were sobbing in vans and stuff, you just kept tough, kept focused. And that surprised and impressed me given what you've been through.

MATLIN (through interpreter): All of the things that you've mentioned and that I've gone through have given me a thick skin as an individual. And anything else that might come my way -- I mean, if you're speaking about whatever it is, I know exactly what's going out there, it's all there on the table.

And, whatever happens on this show, I mean, it's like, a piece of cake. You can't compare it. Not at all.

So, I think that's why I grew up -- I grew up quite quickly, and I grew up more I -- knowing that it's not about me. I guess, at the end of the day. It's about the deaf kids. And it's about the deaf world -- simple as that. I think that's one advantage that I had.

MORGAN: And John, you do mostly say the same thing about your charity, it was always for the charity, in the back of your mind. And I get that feeling and I went down to San Antonio in Texas and saw the incredibly badly wounded soldiers who I was raising the money for in for The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

And it's one of the most moving things I've ever done in my life -- to actually see the people who would benefit from this fund raising. I needed no more galvanizing to try and win the competition.

But, I also learned about myself, that, you know, when it comes to it, I was incredibly competitive to win there. Forget everything else. I wanted to win. By the end, I'd been through so much. And I see it in both of you, that same thing.

RICH: It will push you to new levels of competitiveness. I 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 Saint Jude.

I can tell you that I think part of my ability to get this far was the way I was raised. I believe in God, I believe in country, and I believe in kids.

MORGAN: You're the son of a preacher man.

RICH: My dad's a preacher. I grew up in Amarillo, Texas, in west Texas, and, you know, we worked and scrapped for everything we had. And hard work and a hard work ethic is how I had been raised my entire life. Thanks to my parents.

MORGAN: I read that, you know, you said publicly that you'd written songs which your father deemed potentially offensive, and so, you haven't recorded them.

RICH: Right, yes, I have enough -- 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'll never record it. Absolutely.

MORGAN: Has he been --

RICH: Respect is something that's missing in this world right now.

MORGAN: I agree with you.

RICH: You have to respect.

MORGAN: And you've been very respectful on the show despite incredible provocation sometimes.

RICH: Yes, yes. You have to have respect in this world, you know, and -- as early as today I called a lady, "Yes, ma'am." She said, "Ma'am? What are you" -- I said well where I come from we refer to ladies as "ma'am."

And, I can compete all day with Marlee, and trust me, I've got hell at my heels, I'm coming at this lady, we're going to battle it out at the table and somebody's going to emerge victorious, but it has nothing to do with do I respect Marlee Matlin. I have mad respect for this woman. And she is a ma'am as far as I'm concerned --

MORGAN: We only have --

RICH: This world is too light on respect.

MORGAN: We only have one "ma'am" in England. The Queen. She's the only lady who is called "ma'am" -- just a little aside to the conversation.

RICH: I'll make sure I try not to say that when I visit.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: Marlee, I mean, it seems to me -- I was reading again this morning about you, one of the more amusing aspects, you found happiness with your husband. You have these four children, and yet you've been hit while you've been doing this show by a big financial crisis in your life, haven't you?

MATLIN (through interpreter): You know, the financial crisis, it is what it is. I -- it's funny because -- I mean, it's not funny. But one thing I'm glad about is that when I found out that a newspaper decided to poke into my tax issues, and they called me and asked for my response I said, I know what's going on in my life, I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm not able to do at that time.

But people somehow thought that I was -- I was surprised by it. No, I've made payment plans. And I announced it before they did. And I was glad to take care of the message.

MORGAN: Just to remind people, it's a $50,000 tax bill that you got behind on your tax. You've had to sell your home --

MATLIN (through interpreter): But I'm -- no, I'm paying for it, and I'm keeping my house. And I'm not losing my house and there's no lien at this point that makes me want to lose the house, but $50,000 certainly is a lot of money, but it's -- compared to a lot of people in the entertainment business, who are in millions of dollars of owing money, it's my business and I chose -- and I'm a proud American who is paying it back and made payment plans.

Listen, I work my butt off everyday throughout my career. It's not easy for work to come to me, and 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's their school play, because I have to work. I do have to work. And I'm going to continue to work.

But for those Americans, I am paying my taxes, and I am paying my $50,000 back. Don't worry, I'm not going to jail. I'm not losing my house and my kids and my husband are fine. Thank you very much.

RICH: Yes, alright.

MORGAN: Nicely -- awfully nicely said, but you didn't even say it really. You just had to give me the gesticulation. I got the point.

MATLIN (through interpreter): He had to say it.

MORGAN: We're going to take another short break. When we come back I want to ask you what you think this will do for your career going forward because it does have an amazing affect. Look, I'm sitting here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH: Now that we are in an individual situation, and I know that there is a tremendous amount of money on the line for my charity if I win, they will experience John Rich in a way they have not experienced him yet.

MORGAN: That sounds great, but what are you going to do?

RICH: What am I going to do?

MORGAN: I mean yes, if you're Little John out there John Rich is my mate.

RICH: Yes.

MORGAN: -- my friend.

RICH: And I will continue to be --

MORGAN: We've collaborated. You're making it sound like some kind of mafia hit.

RICH: We're going after -- we're going after the prize. If I'm allowed to be in the final two, I'm going after that quarter of a million dollars for Saint Jude. That's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: That was a clip from last Sunday, "Celebrity Apprentice," when I went back in to give John and Marlee a grilling which they survived, and you're in the final. This is going to be very exciting.

RICH: Bring it on.

MORGAN: Yes, bring it on.

RICH: I say, bring it on.

MORGAN: Absolutely, bring it on.

Let me ask you both, John, let's start with you -- you're quite a political figure aren't you. I was surprised to read about all that, that you take politics pretty seriously.

RICH: I think everybody should take politics seriously, no matter what your beliefs are, no matter if you're, left, right, middle. Don't know what you are. I think politics -- you have to know what people stand for, you have to go vote. My whole thing is: go vote, you know? I believe what I believe, other people believe what they believe. But at the end of the day, you have to go vote.

MORGAN: We had a whole show yesterday about bankers and what happened in the financial crisis and how they've all been just giving themselves bonuses the first chance they got. What do you think of that?

RICH: Well, I'm not real impressed with that. I actually wrote a song that says -- it talks about in the real world people losing their jobs, but in this make-believe-world over here, they can still bonus themselves and everybody else is just getting slaughtered out here.

And, you know, I play concerts all around the United States and you see people scraping together money for weeks and weeks to get a concert ticket to come have a good time with their family. And to think that, you know, there's guys out bonusing themselves and getting on their G-5 and going to the Bahamas is a pretty sickening thought. Actually, I don't like it at all.

MORGAN: Marlee, what do you hope this show will do for you?

MATLIN (through interpreter): I would hope that it would give me the recognition of showing who I am in real life. Being, you know, Marlee Matlin, the deaf actress all my life who won an "Oscar for Children of a Lesser God," and there you go. I mean, I want to go beyond the stereotype of who I am as a deaf person. As a person who can do anything, anything except hear.

MORGAN: John what do you think?

RICH: I think there's a stereotype that comes with cowboy hats. I think there's a stereotype, you know, with Little John, that comes with a guy with baggy pants and a -- and gold teeth. I think one great thing that's happened this season is some stereotypes have been successfully broken down.

And, you know, everybody comes from a different place. They look like what they look like. They believe what they believe, but we all have heart and soul, and we all care about our charity.

And, at the end of the day, I do believe that's where we all come together on the same page.

MORGAN: And, Marlee, typical question for you, but I'm going to ask you anyway, if you could live without one of two men, your husband or Jack -- who would it be?

MATLIN (through interpreter): I've had my husband for 18 years, I've had four kids with him, and I'm an extremely happily married woman --

MORGAN: You've had him for 25 years.

MATLIN (through interpreter): I'd rather be without Jack, if I was given a choice, and keep my husband Kevin. Thank you very much.

(LAUGHTER)

RICH: You're out, Jack.

MORGAN: I can't believe you just chucked Jack under the bus.

MATLIN: You're fired.

MORGAN: I tell you what Jack; you know what you should do?

JACK JASON, MARLEE MATLIN'S INTERPRETER: What?

MORGAN: You should just leave the set. Then you'd change your mind.

JASON: Clearly as an interpreter, people keep asking me that question. There is a business relationship that all deaf people have all the time when they go to work with an interpreter. That's what I hope this show -- for people who are deaf, that they need interpreters to go and it's not an advantage, and that it's accessibility.

It's the ramp. It's the Braille. It's an interpreter.

And it's an important role. And I'm glad that the show and the producers were kind enough to highlight that. I'm -- they were very, very accommodating when it came to understanding the role of an interpreter. They got it like that.

And you know, what -- it's like two plus two equals four. They got it. And they made it work.

MORGAN: How do your children deal with it?

MATLIN (through interpreter): You mean deal with what, my celebrity or my deafness, or me going away --

MORGAN: The deafness and the sign language. How do you converse with them?

MATLIN (through interpreter): They don't know any other way. They don't know any other way. I mean, they were born into a, you know, a family where the mother is deaf, they don't --

MORGAN: Can they all do the sign language?

MATLIN (through interpreter): They sign if they feel like it. They sign if they feel like it.

MORGAN: If they don't want to listen to their mother, they don't bother, right?

MATLIN, (through interpreter): No, listen, I can't -- that's actually a good point. They can see my sign language. I have to be careful when I'm talking. But when they go to friends' houses with hearing parents, I'll say how does it feel. And they'll say what do you mean how does it feel? To have people who can hear around? And they say it's no big deal. It's just different is all.

I mean, that's what it is. Mom is this way, their parents are this way. It's just what they were born into.

MORGAN: And sort of in the middle of all of this Donald Trump was rumored to be planning a run for the presidency. What do you think President Trump would've been like for this country?

RICH: I would've like to have seen him in a debate. I'm disappointed that I don't get to see him in a debate. You know, he has autonomy in his business. He's Donald Trump and he runs the Trump organization. And I really wanted to see him go head to head with other candidates and put him out there in the mix, and see what he brought to the table. But we'll never see that.

MORGAN: Well, I don't know about you Marlee, but I was incredibly impressed by Donald Trump in the boardroom scenes of "The Apprentice." I mean, these go on for hours.

MATLIN (through interpreter): That was my favorite part of the show. The boardroom, I always looked forward to. People were afraid. And they would walk and pace. And I said no, no. I-- when are we going to the boardroom. I loved to see the debate. I loved to see how he watched people, how he made decisions.

He's a smart guy that way. In that aspect, he's very smart. I really, really enjoyed the boardroom. It was my favorite part of the room.

MORGAN: He used to play it like a viola, didn't he? I mean he had no notes. He had a briefing, but he would just --

MATLIN (through interpreter): He can play the viola? No, I'm just kidding.

MORGAN: Yes. But he would just run the whole thing brilliantly I remember thinking. It's why I'm a big fan of his, because I can see it, first-hand, the hours on end.

MATLIN (through interpreter): He does his homework, he really does.

RICH: What you're doing here is like a conductor. And that's exactly what he feels like. It's like he's conducting an orchestra. And it really is impressive how he can ask a question and get the information out of everybody.

MATLIN (through interpreter): And both Ivanka and Donald Trump, Jr. are reflections of him, because they're both brilliant, brilliant people. And I was really impressed. And if they were my kids, I'd be very proud of them.

Because to work with their -- I mean their input was invaluable. And I was very impressed.

MORGAN: Before we go I want to play one last clip. It's the moment that you discover that you've made it to the final.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SROSS TALK)

RICH: I can give you a hug, right? I'm so happy -- happy for you. Wow.

TRUMP: OK. Congratulations, you're my final two. And this was not easy. This was a rough one.

What do you think Marlee?

MATLIN (through translator): You know, I'm stunned, but I'm more eager to roll up my sleeves and just jump in it and see what you got for us.

TRUMP: She's got plenty of energy. What do you think, John Rich

RICH: I've admired her since day one. And I love Marlee's tenacity and yet her ability to remain respectful to everyone, but still be strong. To me, that is the fine line you walk.

TRUMP: Well, it's going to be very interesting because as project managers, you've opposed each other twice. You've won one. Marlee's won one. So you're one and one.

The final I'm going to give you tomorrow. It's going to be an amazing task. One of you will become the "Celebrity Apprentice."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: I loved the way you hugged each other there, because as I was in that moment with Trace Atkins, my exact words to him were you're going down, cowboy.

(LAUGHTER)

RICH: Yes, well you know, I mean --

MORGAN: This was a bit more friendly.

MATLIN (through interpreter): No this -- we both had mutual respect for each other and this is since first -- since day one.

MORGAN: But let's just -- let's cut the crap shall we, you both want to kill each other in the final right?

MATLIN (through interpreter): Yes. Marlee said yes, okay.

(CROSS TALK)

MORGAN: You want to kill each other in the final don't you?

RICH: I don't about -- I don't think we want to kill each other, but I want to win. I want to win bad. MATLIN: I want to win, too.

RICH: And, you know, I think -- neither one of us is going to tell you exactly what we're going to say. And I think it's going to depend on what Mr. Trump asks, but, you know, I'm sure you have a plan. I know I know what I'm going to say. And we're going to go in there and it's going to be a -- going to be one hell of a race.

MORGAN: Well, I -- I can't call this. And I'm normally pretty good at calling the winner of these things. I do think you've got a very, very tough lady here. Ice cool cowboy here. Anything can happen.

The beneficiary that we know for sure will be the two charities. You've raised nearly two million dollars, an incredible achievement. I take my -- if I had a hat, I would take it off to you John and you Marlee. Both, good luck. May the best man/woman win.

And I'll be watching. Thank you.

RICH: Thank you, sir.

MORGAN: When we come back, I'll be with a TV legend, Dick Van Dyke.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: Dick Van Dyke has been making people laugh over 50 years and is still going very strongly.

He's now written a memoir "My Lucky Life In and Out Of Show Business."

Dick Van Dyke joins me now. You are like Santa Claus to me.

DICK VAN DYKE, ACTOR: Really?

MORGAN: You are, because every Christmas in Britain, I sort of familiar regime. I get a bottle of wine after Christmas, either Christmas day or the day after. I sit down at a roaring log fire. It's normally freezing cold in England at that time of year.

I sit down and I watch either "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" or "Mary Poppins." Can you still do that God awful Cockney accent that you did?

VAN DYKE: I can do the bad one that I did. But I have had 40 years to lay blame around on other people.

MORGAN: Let's have a little flash of it. Come on.

VAN DYKE: I don't think I can -- what would be a line?

MORGAN: Don't pretend to be me.

VAN DYKE: Well, I -- I can't get it -- I can't leave the H's off. I tried and tried. And I had a vocal coach who was an Irishman, -- O'Malley. I wondered all the months of shooting that movie, why didn't my friend Julie or somebody say Dick, that stinks? Nobody said anything.

MORGAN: It was a pretty comical accent.

VAN DYKE: I know it.

MORGAN: Have you been to the east end of London? Have you been to the Cockney part of London?

VAN DYKE: Oh, yes. Of course.

MORGAN: Do they laugh at you or with you?

VAN DYKE: Oh, yes. Some people laugh with me and some laugh at me. I always -- three people were Americans. Everybody else in the cast was English. Nobody ever said Dick, you can do better. Never said anything.

MORGAN: What do you think your great talent is?

VAN DYKE: I don't know. I really don't know. Working under pressure, I think, because I auditioned for "Bye-bye Birdie" with Gallard Champion (ph) and did a little soft shoe. He said you have the part on the spot. And I said, Mr. Champion, I can't dance. He said, we'll show you what you need to know. I learned to dance during rehearsal.

MORGAN: You have always been good at being able to just do stuff on the spur of the moment.

VAN DYKE: I have been a physical comedian, even as a child. I did my impression of Buster Keaton and Stan Laurel. So I could always do falls.

MORGAN: What did you think you would be when you were younger?

VAN DYKE: A failure, a total starving failure. I knew I had no head for business. I am just lucky I got into something I didn't have to grow up.

MORGAN: When I read your book, that's kind of the impression I got. You called it "My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business." Obviously, you have had a few ups and downs. Broadly speaking, you've had a great life.

I couldn't believe you had gone through 50 years in the business. I couldn't really find much evidence of vice.

VAN DYKE: Well, the alcohol got to me for a while.

MORGAN: No Charlie Sheen stuff going on.

VAN DYKE: I got over it pretty quickly when I finally realized I had a problem. MORGAN: You talk quite graphically about your battle with alcohol. You have been clean for how long now?

VAN DYKE: Oh, 25 -- more than 25 years now.

MORGAN: What came through to me was I was surprised by one thing. When I heard the reports of what you were going to be tackling in here, I imagined some kind of riotous drunk who suddenly woke up and thought I've got to go to the Betty Ford Clinic or something, and my life is over.

It doesn't really come across that way. It doesn't seem to me to be a dreadful problem that gripped you, not certainly in the likes of Charlie Sheen or somebody. Yet to you, clearly, you felt you had lost control.

VAN DYKE: That's right. I couldn't stop. It scared me to death. I never was doing any public drinking particularly.

MORGAN: No.

VAN DYKE: But all through my 20s, I worked night clubs with my partner. I didn't drink, a teetotaler. In may early 30s, I was always kind of shy. I found that a drink, my inhibitions would follow fall a little bit. I became more garrulous and enjoyed it.

So I would use that and have a couple of martinis. It slowly went into four or five. Then I found myself waking up with a slight hangover. And tried to stop it and could not. I had to go for help.

MORGAN: How bad was it at its worst for you?

VAN DYKE: Having a hangover so bad that I could hardly -- shaking, splitting headaches, and having to go to work.

MORGAN: How much would you be drinking?

VAN DYKE: I probably -- that was -- eight, ten drinks. I mean -- I wasn't a fifth a day drinker or anything like that. I just couldn't stop what I was doing.

MORGAN: You went and had treatment for it.

VAN DYKE: I did. Back in the days before they had treatment centers. I was locked up with the psychos.

MORGAN: Were you?

VAN DYKE: Yes. Scared me to death. The man in the next bed had little men in top hats walking across --

MORGAN: Did that make you feel slightly uneasy?

VAN DYKE: Very uneasy, yes. But I lasted through it.

MORGAN: You never had a drink again? VAN DYKE: No. And lucky for me, my drinking machine broke. All of a sudden, it didn't taste good. It made me dizzy. I didn't get that lift from it. It just went away.

MORGAN: Do you miss it now? Do you wish you could have a glass of wine over a meal or something?

VAN DYKE: Don't miss it all. Once in a while, I miss a cigarette. Now it's been a lot of years since I smoked. And that was harder.

MORGAN: Why did you give up cigarettes?

VAN DYKE: I had a doctor tell me I had an emphysema scar, a man I didn't even know, a little East Indian doctor. He said, Mr. Van Dyke, I want to show you something. We don't want to lose you, Mr. Van Dyke. Sure enough, scared me to death. I stopped.

MORGAN: You stopped again, just like that.

VAN DYKE: Yes. Hard, though.

MORGAN: We will take a short break. When we come back, I want to talk to you specifically about the luck element of show business.

VAN DYKE: Yes.

MORGAN: Which you've pinned on this book.

VAN DYKE: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN DYKE: Put the giraffe's neck under my neck. I paid the bill. OK. All right. That is just about everything, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about the baby?

VAN DYKE: Only your mother would think --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOGRAN: That was a moment from "the Dick Van Dyke Show," which is the role that made you very famous. It's funny, you say you're very lucky. It's a running theme of the book. Yet, when I watch those old clips, I remember why you became so successful.

I think that Simon Cowell always calls it on it on his talent shows, it's the X factor, the likability factor. You were very likable on screen. The screen liked you.

VAN DYKE: You know, my wife when she saw the Van Dyke show, she said you're not acting. That's the same way you act at home. So obviously I wasn't acting at home. And Carl Reiner had the gift of putting words in your mouth. He listened to the nuances and the cadences of your voice.

And I didn't have to act. I just said the lines. It was so easy.

MORGAN: How important -- obviously it's important, but how important is chemistry between a leading man and lady?

VAN DYKE: In my case, extremely important.

MORGAN: You were lucky. You had some great leading ladies.

VAN DYKE: I had the best of the best.

MORGAN: I mean, seriously. You're right about that. That's where you got lucky, I think.

VAN DYKE: I did. I imagine the -- Mary and I would start to giggle right in the middle of a scene.

MORGAN: Mary Tyler Moore?

VAN DYKE: Mary Tyler Moore. And a psychiatrist friend said you have got a crush on each other, and you're giggling. And it was true. We did. It helped a lot of people thought we were married in real life, because the relationship was so good. I think chemistry is everything.

MORGAN: Could you have ever imagined being married to Mary Tyler Moore?

VAN DYKE: In a different life, in a different world, it probably would have worked out very well, yeah.

MORGAN: The most startling I worked out how old you are.

VAN DYKE: Eighty five.

MORGAN: That's quite unbelievable.

VAN DYKE: I don't feel it.

MORGAN: You don't look it and you don't sound it. But you've made me feel very old. How can Dick Van Dyke be 85?

VAN DYKE: It's a surprise to me because I'm still -- I just did a show where I danced and sang. I'm still hoofing. I enjoy performing. I have a quartet. We sang for the president last summer at the Ford Theater.

MORGAN: You've met many presidents in your time. Which of all of them impressed you the most?

VAN DYKE: Obama. President Obama, very impressed by him, yes. MORGAN: Why?

VAN DYKE: He was so cordial. At one point, I was talking to him and my bow tie was crooked, and he reached out and straightened it out for me. And I said, you have to fix everything, don't you?

I was just charmed by him. We performed for him. He came on stage afterwards and said, you have to teach me your moves. I think he could do them, too.

MORGAN: Michelle Obama told you that she loves watching your old shows.

VAN DYKE: She said yours is my favorite television show. And the president said, she's not kidding. That was quite a trip.

MORGAN: That's quite something, isn't it?

VAN DYKE: Oh yes.

MORGAN: The first lady loves your stuff. Why do you keep going? Why don't you say I'm going to go lie by the pool?

VAN DYKE: Well, I've retired hundreds of times and it never worked out.

MORGAN: Why?

VAN DYKE: Because I enjoy -- I enjoy it.

MORGAN: No booze, no cigarettes now for 20 odd years.

VAN DYKE: No. I feel pretty good.

MORGAN: What do you do that's a bit naughty, Dick? You can't get to 85 and just be doing nothing like --

VAN DYKE: I don't know. I'm not a dirty old man. I would like to be. But -- no, I feel quite good for my age.

MORGAN: You have got a fairly young girlfriend, I hear.

VAN DYKE: Yes, 39.

MORGAN: That's pretty good work. Are you proud of yourself?

VAN DYKE: Yes. She was my makeup gal, and then I lost my lady a year and a half ago to cancer. And she became my assistant. And I tell you, I had to have someone to care about. I've never been able to live alone. Couldn't stand it. I went from my mother to my wife and I always had a life partner.

And I have to have someone to love and someone to care for or I'm a dead man.

MORGAN: What do you think the secret of true love is? VAN DYKE: You have to care about the welfare of the other person.

MORGAN: How many times have you had that feeling?

VAN DYKE: Three. I married my high school sweet heart, of course. A bride a groom -- I've been married on the radio. And then, of course, after that Michelle. And only three times in my life. And I feel very lucky.

MORGAN: Do you think you may ever get remarried?

VAN DYKE: I don't know. If the face allows. I'm circling the drain now. If I hang on long enough.

MORGAN: You're never going to give up, are you, Dick?

VAN DYKE: No. And thank you for having me.

MORGAN: It's been my pleasure, really. Thank you.

VAN DYKE: Thank you.

MORGAN: Thanks for coming on.

Coming up, a sneak preview of my interview with "Glee"'s breakout star Chris Colfer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: Monday night, my sit down with "Glee's" biggest star, Chris Colfer, toast of Hollywood and now Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN. Did you meet the president?

CHRIS COLFER, "GLEE": I did. I met the president.

MORGAN: What did he say you?

COLFER: Hi, I'm Barack.

MORGAN: He didn't say that?

COLFER: He did. He said, hi, I'm Barack. And I said, I know. And then, of course, when I get excited, I get high pitched. So I was like, I'm Chris. He probably thought I was some Mickey Mouse impersonator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: And I'll talk to somebody else who has also met the president just about more than anybody else, Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: When was the moment -- when Michelle was dating Barack, when was the moment that you realized this guy may be something special politically?

CRAIG ROBINSON, BROTHER OF FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: I had no idea at the time when I met him. I mean, he was a lawyer. He had been a community organizer. I knew he had political aspirations.

But he never came off as a political guy to me. He always seemed like a normal, smart guy, great personality. Looked like he would be a good fit with my sister. That was how I looked at it.

It wasn't until he really started getting into politics and those first early campaigns where I saw, you know, he's got a gift for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: That's PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT on Monday. Now here's Anderson Cooperwith "AC 360."

PIERS MORGAN, HOST: Well, tonight, something I know well and a lot about, winning "Celebrity Apprentice." Very soon, one of my guests will, too -- country singer John Rich and actress Marlee Matlin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Let's cut crap, shall we? You both want to kill each other in the final right?

MARLEE MATLIN, ACTRESS (through interpreter): Yes. Marlee said, yes, OK.

(CROSSTALK) MORGAN: You want to kill each other in the final don't you?

JOHN RICH, COUNTRY SINGER: I don't know -- I don't think between want to kill each other, but I want to win. I want to win bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: I got some advice for them, the "Celebrity Apprentice" panelists and Dick Van Dyke, one of the funniest old guys in television history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: What did you think you'd be when you were young?

DICK VAN DYKE, COMEDIAN: A failure, a total starving (ph) failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Song and dance man who started an absolutely classic TV series.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Did you ever imagine being married to Mary Tyler Moore?

VAN DYKE: In a different life, different world, it would have worked out very well. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: As well movies loved by generations. Tonight, he's here.

This is PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT.

(MUSIC)

MORGAN: It's a very rather nerve wrecking time for my guests here because one of them is about to win "Celebrity Apprentice" and that somebody has already won that competition. I'm the best person to know what hell they have been through so far.

Joining me now is country singer John Rich, and actress Marlee Matlin, with her interpreter Jack Jason.

Welcome, both of you.

I know what you've been through. I was there in the trench before you. I mean it is a nightmare, isn't it, "Celebrity Apprentice"? The work load, the stress the strain. John, you go first.

RICH: Well, it's the -- yes, the exhaustion is what I never anticipated, you know, I think the fans at home think, oh it's one task a week, no big deal. But in real time, as you know, it's relentless every single day, 16, 18 hours a day. That's the thing that really caught me off guard.

MORGAN: And, Marlee, it's so stressful, isn't it?

MATLIN (through interpreter): It's extremely stressful. It's extreme -- it's non-stop, round the clock and 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.

It -- they don't tell you what to expect when you get there. You have no anticipation, you just do it, there's surprise, but you know what? We all went we the flow and we picked it up as we went along.

MORGAN: And it's a kind of torture. And I said this to Donald Trump, where the producers just make you more and more exhausted. They're trying to break down you defenses, they're trying to get you emotionally and physically shattered, aren't they?

MATLIN (through interpreter): And yet it's up to you whether you want to take it that way. You say to yourself, this what I want? Yes, I want it -- I'm here for my charity. So, I've just got to go with it. This is what kept me going.

It's the charity, it's the money. It's like you're being greedy for your charity, but you have to take care of yourself, you have to drink water, you have to eat. You have to do whatever it is as much as you can in the time that you're given. But you have to say to yourself: focus and do what you can.

MORGAN: How much did you both raise for your charity? And what were the charities?

MATLIN (through interpreter): I raised $1,150,000. Oh wait, a million and then the additional $50,000 that Seven Up gave us. So -- and then I raised $70,000 on behalf of the other charities that (INAUDIBLE) were playing for.

MORGAN: John?

RICH: I'm just under $800,000 for Saint Jude's Research Hospital, and then another $130,000 for other charities. So, it's an immense amount of money that was raised this season.

MORGAN: I mean, I remember when I did it; I think I raised just under $800,000 for The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. I know that you have certainly been involved with John.

I mean -- 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?

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well, exactly, I mean for me, the whole point for me was to do it for charity because I mean, 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. And I'm also an author, and I'm a mom and I'm a producer, but I've never been a graphic designer, and I've never made pizza in my life, like the way we had to make pizza and I've never had to run an ad or shoot a commercial, so it's 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 use to doing.

(CROSSTALK)

MORGAN: I'm worried that when I die, all the obituaries will say man who sold hot dogs with Gene Simmons and Lennox Lewis dies.

(LAUGHTER)

RICH: Don't most people think you're immortal? I mean that's what I thought. I thought that about you.

MORGAN: I mean, you, obviously -- I took on Trace Adkins in finale of my season who is a fellow country singer. And it shocked me when I tried to -- when Donald Trump invited me back for last weeks episode, when he tried to cut down from four contestants to the two, and he told me to really go after everybody, try and get under your skin.

And what I found impressive about both of you, why I recommended both of you to him was you were both very cool under fire. And this was despite the fact you'd been through this hellish ordeal. You, in particular and I even mocked you hat. The famous Texan Stetson and you still were having none of it. Ice cool.

RICH: Well, I walked through the streets of New York City in a cowboy hat and I hear yea-haw about every 20 seconds, you know? So, listen where I come from, Amarillo, Texas, it's part of the culture, you know? It's not a fad where I come from.

And, honestly, I knew you were there to grill us and to go at us like that and we'd 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 that last quarter of a million for Saint Jude, period. I had my game face on big time for that.

MATLIN (through interpreter): And I remember you asked me, Marlee -- you were very -- you said Marlee, what's the advantage of having -- I mean, you've done a good job and you've won money, and so forth and so on, but people might think you're, you know, having an advantage by having an interpreter, and I said, well, wait a minute. I can't communicate without an interpreter. So, how is that an advantage, and sit there and try to read everybody's lips, and I would be totally lost.

He was like an octopus. Jack had to sign for everyone. I needed to understand who was talking, who was yelling, who was thinking, who wasn't thinking, and that's what an interpreter is for.

MORGAN: Here's 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've worked together for 20 years, but you have this kind of symbiotic, real-time relationship which allows you to have a completely normal conversation.

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well as you said, we've worked for 25 years together. First of all, Jack has deaf parents. So, sign language is his first language. So that's where he takes advantage of being able to communicate and sign very well.

But secondly, as you said we worked together, perhaps 12/5, 18/5, not 24/7, but he knows exactly what I'm thinking in terms of -- I'm always watching Jack.

MORGAN: Does it give you an advantage that the others heard you speaking in a male voice?

MATLIN (through interpreter): Perhaps because they see me signing and they know that's it's me talking. I don't -- I think if I had a female voice it would've associated that voice with me, but having a male voice makes it so that that's the message, that I'm the one who's speaking.

And, you know, it's not -- I'm not just taking advantage of what he signs and thinking, OK, fine, I'm comfortable. I'm always having to pay attention, and I sometimes, you know, catch him when he messes up. And I ask him please say it again.

MORGAN: I was -- when I interviewed you, I was quite intimidated, because all of this kind of sign language you do it in such a bang-bang way I was like, hey --

MATLIN (through interpreter): You know, it's how I speak. Hearing people a lot of times don't think -- they don't -- maybe they've never seen a deaf person, maybe they've never seen a person moving their hands and they're like fascinated. They're like kids learning something new. But it comes really quickly to most. I mean, I'm just used to it. I'm really just used to it.

MORGAN: How important is this man to you?

MATLIN (through interpreter): This man here? Wow -- well, this man is -- plays a 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 and he is -- it's important to have him there, but not on a personal level. It's not -- it's completely separate, it's complete and pure business.

MORGAN: And how embarrassed does he get when he has to talk about himself in the third person like this?

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well, he loves it when he hears his own voice talking about him like that so --

(LAUGHTER)

RICH: That's great.

MORGAN: I mean, John, it's an extraordinary thing to witness.

RICH: Oh, incredible.

MORGAN: When I was trying to think if I'd been on "The Apprentice" this season, watching Marlee having to interact with 14, 16 people to start with and hold her own and win challenges, a remarkable thing.

RICH: Without a doubt. I don't think anybody that's ever met Marlee thinks anything other than what you just said. She's a remarkable person, period. I mean, really, really impressive and to watch this.

MORGAN: It's amazing, isn't it?

RICH: I look at it as kind of like a privilege to experience being around such a relationship because how many people have ever even seen something like this in person. It's incredible.

MORGAN: And what I --

(CROSSTALK)

MATLIN (through interpreter): I mean, it happens everyday. Deaf people --

RICH: No, I know it happens, but you don't get the opportunity to witness it first hand --

MORGAN: And I know you say that, Marlee, I think the really important thing, I thought after meeting you and seeing this 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 for you.

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well, there are 35 deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States and you're not talking about all the deaf people -- 35 million --

MORGAN: Thirty-five million.

MATLIN (through interpreter): Thirty-five million deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States. And so, if you think about how many people and then add that to the kids, which Starkey helps, all those people who might need hearing aides, all those kids, to make sure they have the opportunity for access to communication, to education, to have the opportunities that kids who can hear -- to get equal rights, just like anyone else, it's a large number of people. And we're talking about adults as well, too.

MORGAN: And the other great advantage you had, as I pointed out Sunday during the show, is that you couldn't hear all the terrible screaming and hollering going on from --

(CROSSTALK)

MATLIN (through interpreter): That's was the advantage that I've had -- I've had that advantage all my life.

MORGAN: I mean Meatloaf, Gary Busey, Star Jones -- I mean, they're all going completely crackers (ph).

MATLIN (through interpreter): Well no, but you have to -- I could see it. As much as you could hear it I could see them crying, I could see them getting in each other's face, and I was like, oh my goodness. But, what I would do is just conveniently turn my head and I look at Jack and --

MORGAN: But I could see Omorosa -- I just wish I hadn't been able to listen to her.

MATLIN (through interpreter): I'm sorry.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: John, what would it mean to you John to win now? You've gotten so close, but in the end there's only one winner. There's a quarter of a million dollars that could go to your charity, it's a really big deal, isn't it?

RICH: It's bigger than big. And I'm playing for Saint 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's such a horrible disease it continues to morph into these 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 and it's also a research center. So, they have treatments for cancers that -- the treatments don't even have names yet. They're just a serial number.

And they take these kids in and the majority of them come out and survive this situation. It's huge what they do.

MORGAN: Putting the charity to one side, are you surprised how competitive you became in this competition, in the sense of wanting to win?

RICH: What I'm surprised is that -- and you would never think a reality TV show would give you a life lesson, but it truly has to me. You could ask my friends, they'll tell you. I feel like this was the first time in my life I was able to take all the things that I'd built for myself and leverage them on behalf of someone else, something greater than myself in this case, Saint Jude.

There were things I wanted to say to people, things I wanted to engage that normally I would if it was just me and them, but I chose not to because I wasn't there for me, I was truly there for the charity. And it actually made me a better person playing on behalf of something bigger than me. And that really did happen and it really was a gear shift right in my heart, in this situation.

MORGAN: We're going to take a -- let's take a short break. When we come back I want to talk to you both about what you've learned about yourselves from the process of being in "Celebrity Apprentice," because I know I did.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: Back with my special guests Marlee Matlin and John Rich from "Celebrity Apprentice" and, Jack Jason. He's Marlee's interpreter, and this remains an extraordinary thing to watch.

And I think viewers watching this -- I think, later, we'll tell them how they can help with your charity, and your charity, but it's going to help a lot of deaf people in this country and it's great to see.

Let me ask you both what you learned about yourselves from taking part in "Celebrity Apprentice," because it's a brutal competition. It's realty TV at its most savage. Mostly incredibly hard work, mental challenges, competition with often erratic people what did you learn about yourselves and your character?

MATLIN (through interpreter): I think -- well, coming into the show, I knew that I would be -- I mean, I would first try to raise as much money as I can for my charity, which again is The Starkey Hearing Foundation based in Minnesota. And I wanted to make sure that all these kids got the hearing aides, those who can't afford them, whether they're in the United States or in developing countries. That's the first thing I knew in my head. That was the purpose I came to the show.

And as for me as an actor, as an author, as whatever and being a mom, a wife -- I knew all that, and bring those -- that skill set. But, once the show started, I thought, OK, this also involves working with people. And 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.

And I -- I think what I learned about myself is that I never really totally listened to myself so much, focused on myself so much intensely and had an opportunity to look at who I am and why I'm here and why I wanted to do this, and why I wanted to listen to this person as I did on the show.

And whether this was right and whether this is wrong, this is how I think. And bottom line is I learned that I have become extremely unselfish, and that I am extremely willing -- it's not about me. Basically at the end of the day, it's not about me.

MORGAN: Yes, but you've had a tough life. I mean, I read your book a couple of years ago. You know, in that, you detailed a couple of times when you were young when you were molested once by a female babysitter, once by a male teacher. You know, you then went into a heavy drug period, a part of which you describe to that period when you were molested. You had a very abusive relationship with William Hurt that you talked about very frankly -- a lot of physical violence. You've 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 -- as people like Meatloaf were sobbing in vans and stuff, you just kept tough, kept focused. And that surprised and impressed me given what you've been through.

MATLIN (through interpreter): All of the things that you've mentioned and that I've gone through have given me a thick skin as an individual. And anything else that might come my way -- I mean, if you're speaking about whatever it is, I know exactly what's going out there, it's all there on the table.

And, whatever happens on this show, I mean, it's like, a piece of cake. You can't compare it. Not at all.

So, I think that's why I grew up -- I grew up quite quickly, and I grew up more I -- knowing that it's not about me. I guess, at the end of the day. It's about the deaf kids. And it's about the deaf world -- simple as that. I think that's one advantage that I had.

MORGAN: And John, you do mostly say the same thing about your charity, it was always for the charity, in the back of your mind. And I get that feeling and I went down to San Antonio in Texas and saw the incredibly badly wounded soldiers who I was raising the money for in for The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.

And it's one of the most moving things I've ever done in my life -- to actually see the people who would benefit from this fund raising. I needed no more galvanizing to try and win the competition.

But, I also learned about myself, that, you know, when it comes to it, I was incredibly competitive to win there. Forget everything else. I wanted to win. By the end, I'd been through so much. And I see it in both of you, that same thing.

RICH: It will push you to new levels of competitiveness. I 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 Saint Jude.

I can tell you that I think part of my ability to get this far was the way I was raised. I believe in God, I believe in country, and I believe in kids.

MORGAN: You're the son of a preacher man.

RICH: My dad's a preacher. I grew up in Amarillo, Texas, in west Texas, and, you know, we worked and scrapped for everything we had. And hard work and a hard work ethic is how I had been raised my entire life. Thanks to my parents.

MORGAN: I read that, you know, you said publicly that you'd written songs which your father deemed potentially offensive, and so, you haven't recorded them. RICH: Right, yes, I have enough -- 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'll never record it. Absolutely.

MORGAN: Has he been --

RICH: Respect is something that's missing in this world right now.

MORGAN: I agree with you.

RICH: You have to respect.

MORGAN: And you've been very respectful on the show despite incredible provocation sometimes.

RICH: Yes, yes. You have to have respect in this world, you know, and -- as early as today I called a lady, "Yes, ma'am." She said, "Ma'am? What are you" -- I said well where I come from we refer to ladies as "ma'am."

And, I can compete all day with Marlee, and trust me, I've got hell at my heels, I'm coming at this lady, we're going to battle it out at the table and somebody's going to emerge victorious, but it has nothing to do with do I respect Marlee Matlin. I have mad respect for this woman. And she is a ma'am as far as I'm concerned --

MORGAN: We only have --

RICH: This world is too light on respect.

MORGAN: We only have one "ma'am" in England. The Queen. She's the only lady who is called "ma'am" -- just a little aside to the conversation.

RICH: I'll make sure I try not to say that when I visit.

(LAUGHTER)

MORGAN: Marlee, I mean, it seems to me -- I was reading again this morning about you, one of the more amusing aspects, you found happiness with your husband. You have these four children, and yet you've been hit while you've been doing this show by a big financial crisis in your life, haven't you?

MATLIN (through interpreter): You know, the financial crisis, it is what it is. I -- it's funny because -- I mean, it's not funny. But one thing I'm glad about is that when I found out that a newspaper decided to poke into my tax issues, and they called me and asked for my response I said, I know what's going on in my life, I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm not able to do at that time.

But people somehow thought that I was -- I was surprised by it. No, I've made payment plans. And I announced it before they did. And I was glad to take care of the message. MORGAN: Just to remind people, it's a $50,000 tax bill that you got behind on your tax. You've had to sell your home --

MATLIN (through interpreter): But I'm -- no, I'm paying for it, and I'm keeping my house. And I'm not losing my house and there's no lien at this point that makes me want to lose the house, but $50,000 certainly is a lot of money, but it's -- compared to a lot of people in the entertainment business, who are in millions of dollars of owing money, it's my business and I chose -- and I'm a proud American who is paying it back and made payment plans.

Listen, I work my butt off everyday throughout my career. It's not easy for work to come to me, and 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's their school play, because I have to work. I do have to work. And I'm going to continue to work.

But for those Americans, I am paying my taxes, and I am paying my $50,000 back. Don't worry, I'm not going to jail. I'm not losing my house and my kids and my husband are fine. Thank you very much.

RICH: Yes, alright.

MORGAN: Nicely -- awfully nicely said, but you didn't even say it really. You just had to give me the gesticulation. I got the point.

MATLIN (through interpreter): He had to say it.

MORGAN: We're going to take another short break. When we come back I want to ask you what you think this will do for your career going forward because it does have an amazing affect. Look, I'm sitting here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICH: Now that we are in an individual situation, and I know that there is a tremendous amount of money on the line for my charity if I win, they will experience John Rich in a way they have not experienced him yet.

MORGAN: That sounds great, but what are you going to do?

RICH: What am I going to do?

MORGAN: I mean yes, if you're Little John out there John Rich is my mate.

RICH: Yes.

MORGAN: -- my friend.

RICH: And I will continue to be --

MORGAN: We've collaborated. You're making it sound like some kind of mafia hit.

RICH: We're going after -- we're going after the prize. If I'm allowed to be in the final two, I'm going after that quarter of a million dollars for Saint Jude. That's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: That was a clip from last Sunday, "Celebrity Apprentice," when I went back in to give John and Marlee a grilling which they survived, and you're in the final. This is going to be very exciting.

RICH: Bring it on.

MORGAN: Yes, bring it on.

RICH: I say, bring it on.

MORGAN: Absolutely, bring it on.

Let me ask you both, John, let's start with you -- you're quite a political figure aren't you. I was surprised to read about all that, that you take politics pretty seriously.

RICH: I think everybody should take politics seriously, no matter what your beliefs are, no matter if you're, left, right, middle. Don't know what you are. I think politics -- you have to know what people stand for, you have to go vote.

My whole thing is: go vote, you know? I believe what I believe, other people believe what they believe. But at the end of the day, you have to go vote.

MORGAN: We had a whole show yesterday about bankers and what happened in the financial crisis and how they've all been just giving themselves bonuses the first chance they got. What do you think of that?

RICH: Well, I'm not real impressed with that. I actually wrote a song that says -- it talks about in the real world people losing their jobs, but in this make-believe-world over here, they can still bonus themselves and everybody else is just getting slaughtered out here.

And, you know, I play concerts all around the United States and you see people scraping together money for weeks and weeks to get a concert ticket to come have a good time with their family. And to think that, you know, there's guys out bonusing themselves and getting on their G-5 and going to the Bahamas is a pretty sickening thought. Actually, I don't like it at all.

MORGAN: Marlee, what do you hope this show will do for you?

MATLIN (through interpreter): I would hope that it would give me the recognition of showing who I am in real life. Being, you know, Marlee Matlin, the deaf actress all my life who won an "Oscar for Children of a Lesser God," and there you go. I mean, I want to go beyond the stereotype of who I am as a deaf person. As a person who can do anything, anything except hear.

MORGAN: John what do you think?

RICH: I think there's a stereotype that comes with cowboy hats. I think there's a stereotype, you know, with Little John, that comes with a guy with baggy pants and a -- and gold teeth. I think one great thing that's happened this season is some stereotypes have been successfully broken down.

And, you know, everybody comes from a different place. They look like what they look like. They believe what they believe, but we all have heart and soul, and we all care about our charity.

And, at the end of the day, I do believe that's where we all come together on the same page.

MORGAN: And, Marlee, typical question for you, but I'm going to ask you anyway, if you could live without one of two men, your husband or Jack -- who would it be?

MATLIN (through interpreter): I've had my husband for 18 years, I've had four kids with him, and I'm an extremely happily married woman --

MORGAN: You've had him for 25 years.

MATLIN (through interpreter): I'd rather be without Jack, if I was given a choice, and keep my husband Kevin. Thank you very much.

(LAUGHTER)

RICH: You're out, Jack.

MORGAN: I can't believe you just chucked Jack under the bus.

MATLIN: You're fired.

MORGAN: I tell you what Jack; you know what you should do?

JACK JASON, MARLEE MATLIN'S INTERPRETER: What?

MORGAN: You should just leave the set. Then you'd change your mind.

JASON: Clearly as an interpreter, people keep asking me that question. There is a business relationship that all deaf people have all the time when they go to work with an interpreter. That's what I hope this show -- for people who are deaf, that they need interpreters to go and it's not an advantage, and that it's accessibility.

It's the ramp. It's the Braille. It's an interpreter.

And it's an important role. And I'm glad that the show and the producers were kind enough to highlight that. I'm -- they were very, very accommodating when it came to understanding the role of an interpreter. They got it like that.

And you know, what -- it's like two plus two equals four. They got it. And they made it work.

MORGAN: How do your children deal with it?

MATLIN (through interpreter): You mean deal with what, my celebrity or my deafness, or me going away --

MORGAN: The deafness and the sign language. How do you converse with them?

MATLIN (through interpreter): They don't know any other way. They don't know any other way. I mean, they were born into a, you know, a family where the mother is deaf, they don't --

MORGAN: Can they all do the sign language?

MATLIN (through interpreter): They sign if they feel like it. They sign if they feel like it.

MORGAN: If they don't want to listen to their mother, they don't bother, right?

MATLIN, (through interpreter): No, listen, I can't -- that's actually a good point. They can see my sign language. I have to be careful when I'm talking. But when they go to friends' houses with hearing parents, I'll say how does it feel. And they'll say what do you mean how does it feel? To have people who can hear around? And they say it's no big deal. It's just different is all.

I mean, that's what it is. Mom is this way, their parents are this way. It's just what they were born into.

MORGAN: And sort of in the middle of all of this Donald Trump was rumored to be planning a run for the presidency. What do you think President Trump would've been like for this country?

RICH: I would've like to have seen him in a debate. I'm disappointed that I don't get to see him in a debate. You know, he has autonomy in his business. He's Donald Trump and he runs the Trump organization. And I really wanted to see him go head to head with other candidates and put him out there in the mix, and see what he brought to the table. But we'll never see that.

MORGAN: Well, I don't know about you Marlee, but I was incredibly impressed by Donald Trump in the boardroom scenes of "The Apprentice." I mean, these go on for hours.

MATLIN (through interpreter): That was my favorite part of the show. The boardroom, I always looked forward to. People were afraid. And they would walk and pace. And I said no, no. I-- when are we going to the boardroom. I loved to see the debate. I loved to see how he watched people, how he made decisions.

He's a smart guy that way. In that aspect, he's very smart. I really, really enjoyed the boardroom. It was my favorite part of the room.

MORGAN: He used to play it like a viola, didn't he? I mean he had no notes. He had a briefing, but he would just --

MATLIN (through interpreter): He can play the viola? No, I'm just kidding.

MORGAN: Yes. But he would just run the whole thing brilliantly I remember thinking. It's why I'm a big fan of his, because I can see it, first-hand, the hours on end.

MATLIN (through interpreter): He does his homework, he really does.

RICH: What you're doing here is like a conductor. And that's exactly what he feels like. It's like he's conducting an orchestra. And it really is impressive how he can ask a question and get the information out of everybody.

MATLIN (through interpreter): And both Ivanka and Donald Trump, Jr. are reflections of him, because they're both brilliant, brilliant people. And I was really impressed. And if they were my kids, I'd be very proud of them.

Because to work with their -- I mean their input was invaluable. And I was very impressed.

MORGAN: Before we go I want to play one last clip. It's the moment that you discover that you've made it to the final.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SROSS TALK)

RICH: I can give you a hug, right? I'm so happy -- happy for you. Wow.

TRUMP: OK. Congratulations, you're my final two. And this was not easy. This was a rough one.

What do you think Marlee?

MATLIN (through translator): You know, I'm stunned, but I'm more eager to roll up my sleeves and just jump in it and see what you got for us.

TRUMP: She's got plenty of energy. What do you think, John Rich

RICH: I've admired her since day one. And I love Marlee's tenacity and yet her ability to remain respectful to everyone, but still be strong. To me, that is the fine line you walk.

TRUMP: Well, it's going to be very interesting because as project managers, you've opposed each other twice. You've won one. Marlee's won one. So you're one and one.

The final I'm going to give you tomorrow. It's going to be an amazing task. One of you will become the "Celebrity Apprentice."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: I loved the way you hugged each other there, because as I was in that moment with Trace Atkins, my exact words to him were you're going down, cowboy.

(LAUGHTER)

RICH: Yes, well you know, I mean --

MORGAN: This was a bit more friendly.

MATLIN (through interpreter): No this -- we both had mutual respect for each other and this is since first -- since day one.

MORGAN: But let's just -- let's cut the crap shall we, you both want to kill each other in the final right?

MATLIN (through interpreter): Yes. Marlee said yes, okay.

(CROSS TALK)

MORGAN: You want to kill each other in the final don't you?

RICH: I don't about -- I don't think we want to kill each other, but I want to win. I want to win bad.

MATLIN: I want to win, too.

RICH: And, you know, I think -- neither one of us is going to tell you exactly what we're going to say. And I think it's going to depend on what Mr. Trump asks, but, you know, I'm sure you have a plan. I know I know what I'm going to say. And we're going to go in there and it's going to be a -- going to be one hell of a race.

MORGAN: Well, I -- I can't call this. And I'm normally pretty good at calling the winner of these things. I do think you've got a very, very tough lady here. Ice cool cowboy here. Anything can happen.

The beneficiary that we know for sure will be the two charities. You've raised nearly two million dollars, an incredible achievement. I take my -- if I had a hat, I would take it off to you John and you Marlee. Both, good luck. May the best man/woman win.

And I'll be watching. Thank you.

RICH: Thank you, sir.

MORGAN: When we come back, I'll be with a TV legend, Dick Van Dyke.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: Dick Van Dyke has been making people laugh over 50 years and is still going very strongly.

He's now written a memoir "My Lucky Life In and Out Of Show Business."

Dick Van Dyke joins me now. You are like Santa Claus to me.

DICK VAN DYKE, ACTOR: Really?

MORGAN: You are, because every Christmas in Britain, I sort of familiar regime. I get a bottle of wine after Christmas, either Christmas day or the day after. I sit down at a roaring log fire. It's normally freezing cold in England at that time of year.

I sit down and I watch either "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" or "Mary Poppins." Can you still do that God awful Cockney accent that you did?

VAN DYKE: I can do the bad one that I did. But I have had 40 years to lay blame around on other people.

MORGAN: Let's have a little flash of it. Come on.

VAN DYKE: I don't think I can -- what would be a line?

MORGAN: Don't pretend to be me.

VAN DYKE: Well, I -- I can't get it -- I can't leave the H's off. I tried and tried. And I had a vocal coach who was an Irishman, -- O'Malley. I wondered all the months of shooting that movie, why didn't my friend Julie or somebody say Dick, that stinks? Nobody said anything.

MORGAN: It was a pretty comical accent.

VAN DYKE: I know it.

MORGAN: Have you been to the east end of London? Have you been to the Cockney part of London?

VAN DYKE: Oh, yes. Of course.

MORGAN: Do they laugh at you or with you?

VAN DYKE: Oh, yes. Some people laugh with me and some laugh at me. I always -- three people were Americans. Everybody else in the cast was English. Nobody ever said Dick, you can do better. Never said anything.

MORGAN: What do you think your great talent is?

VAN DYKE: I don't know. I really don't know. Working under pressure, I think, because I auditioned for "Bye-bye Birdie" with Gallard Champion (ph) and did a little soft shoe. He said you have the part on the spot. And I said, Mr. Champion, I can't dance. He said, we'll show you what you need to know. I learned to dance during rehearsal. MORGAN: You have always been good at being able to just do stuff on the spur of the moment.

VAN DYKE: I have been a physical comedian, even as a child. I did my impression of Buster Keaton and Stan Laurel. So I could always do falls.

MORGAN: What did you think you would be when you were younger?

VAN DYKE: A failure, a total starving failure. I knew I had no head for business. I am just lucky I got into something I didn't have to grow up.

MORGAN: When I read your book, that's kind of the impression I got. You called it "My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business." Obviously, you have had a few ups and downs. Broadly speaking, you've had a great life.

I couldn't believe you had gone through 50 years in the business. I couldn't really find much evidence of vice.

VAN DYKE: Well, the alcohol got to me for a while.

MORGAN: No Charlie Sheen stuff going on.

VAN DYKE: I got over it pretty quickly when I finally realized I had a problem.

MORGAN: You talk quite graphically about your battle with alcohol. You have been clean for how long now?

VAN DYKE: Oh, 25 -- more than 25 years now.

MORGAN: What came through to me was I was surprised by one thing. When I heard the reports of what you were going to be tackling in here, I imagined some kind of riotous drunk who suddenly woke up and thought I've got to go to the Betty Ford Clinic or something, and my life is over.

It doesn't really come across that way. It doesn't seem to me to be a dreadful problem that gripped you, not certainly in the likes of Charlie Sheen or somebody. Yet to you, clearly, you felt you had lost control.

VAN DYKE: That's right. I couldn't stop. It scared me to death. I never was doing any public drinking particularly.

MORGAN: No.

VAN DYKE: But all through my 20s, I worked night clubs with my partner. I didn't drink, a teetotaler. In may early 30s, I was always kind of shy. I found that a drink, my inhibitions would follow fall a little bit. I became more garrulous and enjoyed it.

So I would use that and have a couple of martinis. It slowly went into four or five. Then I found myself waking up with a slight hangover. And tried to stop it and could not. I had to go for help.

MORGAN: How bad was it at its worst for you?

VAN DYKE: Having a hangover so bad that I could hardly -- shaking, splitting headaches, and having to go to work.

MORGAN: How much would you be drinking?

VAN DYKE: I probably -- that was -- eight, ten drinks. I mean -- I wasn't a fifth a day drinker or anything like that. I just couldn't stop what I was doing.

MORGAN: You went and had treatment for it.

VAN DYKE: I did. Back in the days before they had treatment centers. I was locked up with the psychos.

MORGAN: Were you?

VAN DYKE: Yes. Scared me to death. The man in the next bed had little men in top hats walking across --

MORGAN: Did that make you feel slightly uneasy?

VAN DYKE: Very uneasy, yes. But I lasted through it.

MORGAN: You never had a drink again?

VAN DYKE: No. And lucky for me, my drinking machine broke. All of a sudden, it didn't taste good. It made me dizzy. I didn't get that lift from it. It just went away.

MORGAN: Do you miss it now? Do you wish you could have a glass of wine over a meal or something?

VAN DYKE: Don't miss it all. Once in a while, I miss a cigarette. Now it's been a lot of years since I smoked. And that was harder.

MORGAN: Why did you give up cigarettes?

VAN DYKE: I had a doctor tell me I had an emphysema scar, a man I didn't even know, a little East Indian doctor. He said, Mr. Van Dyke, I want to show you something. We don't want to lose you, Mr. Van Dyke. Sure enough, scared me to death. I stopped.

MORGAN: You stopped again, just like that.

VAN DYKE: Yes. Hard, though.

MORGAN: We will take a short break. When we come back, I want to talk to you specifically about the luck element of show business.

VAN DYKE: Yes.

MORGAN: Which you've pinned on this book. VAN DYKE: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAN DYKE: Put the giraffe's neck under my neck. I paid the bill. OK. All right. That is just about everything, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about the baby?

VAN DYKE: Only your mother would think --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOGRAN: That was a moment from "the Dick Van Dyke Show," which is the role that made you very famous. It's funny, you say you're very lucky. It's a running theme of the book. Yet, when I watch those old clips, I remember why you became so successful.

I think that Simon Cowell always calls it on it on his talent shows, it's the X factor, the likability factor. You were very likable on screen. The screen liked you.

VAN DYKE: You know, my wife when she saw the Van Dyke show, she said you're not acting. That's the same way you act at home. So obviously I wasn't acting at home. And Carl Reiner had the gift of putting words in your mouth. He listened to the nuances and the cadences of your voice.

And I didn't have to act. I just said the lines. It was so easy.

MORGAN: How important -- obviously it's important, but how important is chemistry between a leading man and lady?

VAN DYKE: In my case, extremely important.

MORGAN: You were lucky. You had some great leading ladies.

VAN DYKE: I had the best of the best.

MORGAN: I mean, seriously. You're right about that. That's where you got lucky, I think.

VAN DYKE: I did. I imagine the -- Mary and I would start to giggle right in the middle of a scene.

MORGAN: Mary Tyler Moore?

VAN DYKE: Mary Tyler Moore. And a psychiatrist friend said you have got a crush on each other, and you're giggling. And it was true. We did. It helped a lot of people thought we were married in real life, because the relationship was so good. I think chemistry is everything.

MORGAN: Could you have ever imagined being married to Mary Tyler Moore?

VAN DYKE: In a different life, in a different world, it probably would have worked out very well, yeah.

MORGAN: The most startling I worked out how old you are.

VAN DYKE: Eighty five.

MORGAN: That's quite unbelievable.

VAN DYKE: I don't feel it.

MORGAN: You don't look it and you don't sound it. But you've made me feel very old. How can Dick Van Dyke be 85?

VAN DYKE: It's a surprise to me because I'm still -- I just did a show where I danced and sang. I'm still hoofing. I enjoy performing. I have a quartet. We sang for the president last summer at the Ford Theater.

MORGAN: You've met many presidents in your time. Which of all of them impressed you the most?

VAN DYKE: Obama. President Obama, very impressed by him, yes.

MORGAN: Why?

VAN DYKE: He was so cordial. At one point, I was talking to him and my bow tie was crooked, and he reached out and straightened it out for me. And I said, you have to fix everything, don't you?

I was just charmed by him. We performed for him. He came on stage afterwards and said, you have to teach me your moves. I think he could do them, too.

MORGAN: Michelle Obama told you that she loves watching your old shows.

VAN DYKE: She said yours is my favorite television show. And the president said, she's not kidding. That was quite a trip.

MORGAN: That's quite something, isn't it?

VAN DYKE: Oh yes.

MORGAN: The first lady loves your stuff. Why do you keep going? Why don't you say I'm going to go lie by the pool?

VAN DYKE: Well, I've retired hundreds of times and it never worked out.

MORGAN: Why?

VAN DYKE: Because I enjoy -- I enjoy it.

MORGAN: No booze, no cigarettes now for 20 odd years.

VAN DYKE: No. I feel pretty good.

MORGAN: What do you do that's a bit naughty, Dick? You can't get to 85 and just be doing nothing like --

VAN DYKE: I don't know. I'm not a dirty old man. I would like to be. But -- no, I feel quite good for my age.

MORGAN: You have got a fairly young girlfriend, I hear.

VAN DYKE: Yes, 39.

MORGAN: That's pretty good work. Are you proud of yourself?

VAN DYKE: Yes. She was my makeup gal, and then I lost my lady a year and a half ago to cancer. And she became my assistant. And I tell you, I had to have someone to care about. I've never been able to live alone. Couldn't stand it. I went from my mother to my wife and I always had a life partner.

And I have to have someone to love and someone to care for or I'm a dead man.

MORGAN: What do you think the secret of true love is?

VAN DYKE: You have to care about the welfare of the other person.

MORGAN: How many times have you had that feeling?

VAN DYKE: Three. I married my high school sweet heart, of course. A bride a groom -- I've been married on the radio. And then, of course, after that Michelle. And only three times in my life. And I feel very lucky.

MORGAN: Do you think you may ever get remarried?

VAN DYKE: I don't know. If the face allows. I'm circling the drain now. If I hang on long enough.

MORGAN: You're never going to give up, are you, Dick?

VAN DYKE: No. And thank you for having me.

MORGAN: It's been my pleasure, really. Thank you.

VAN DYKE: Thank you.

MORGAN: Thanks for coming on.

Coming up, a sneak preview of my interview with "Glee"'s breakout star Chris Colfer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MORGAN: Monday night, my sit down with "Glee's" biggest star, Chris Colfer, toast of Hollywood and now Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN. Did you meet the president?

CHRIS COLFER, "GLEE": I did. I met the president.

MORGAN: What did he say you?

COLFER: Hi, I'm Barack.

MORGAN: He didn't say that?

COLFER: He did. He said, hi, I'm Barack. And I said, I know. And then, of course, when I get excited, I get high pitched. So I was like, I'm Chris. He probably thought I was some Mickey Mouse impersonator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: And I'll talk to somebody else who has also met the president just about more than anybody else, Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: When was the moment -- when Michelle was dating Barack, when was the moment that you realized this guy may be something special politically?

CRAIG ROBINSON, BROTHER OF FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: I had no idea at the time when I met him. I mean, he was a lawyer. He had been a community organizer. I knew he had political aspirations.

But he never came off as a political guy to me. He always seemed like a normal, smart guy, great personality. Looked like he would be a good fit with my sister. That was how I looked at it.

It wasn't until he really started getting into politics and those first early campaigns where I saw, you know, he's got a gift for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: That's PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT on Monday. Now here's Anderson Cooperwith "AC 360."