John Rich or Marlee Matlin: Who Won on 'The Celebrity Apprentice?'

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Arguably the most exciting and controversial season of "The Celebrity Apprentice" came to an end Sunday night, pitting Country Star John Rich against Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin in a final challenge of creating the best retro 7UP campaign to ultimately take home $250,000 for their respective charities.

Prior to announcing the winner, Donald Trump admitted this season's ruling of "Apprentice" was his toughest yet, telling the pair he has "never had to go through something like this," calling Matlin and Rich "amazing."

In the end, it was John Rich who wrangled the title of "Celebrity Apprentice" over runner-up Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin.

Most of the season's original 16 contestants returned for the finale with the exception of reality-show star Richard Hatch, who is currently in prison for tax evasion.

Rich scores a $250,000 check which puts the grand total of his charity monies raised in at over $1 million for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. Matlin had been playing for the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

This season's cast included David Cassidy, Richard Hatch, Lisa Rinna, Star Jones, Gary Busey, NeNe Leakes, LaToya Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Jose Canseco, and Meatloaf.