Nice Guy Bret Michaels Wins 'Celebrity Apprentice'

The gloves were off and the heat was on as we came down to the wire. Although Bret was undeniably the popular favorite (and mine, too), we could not help but admire the passionate commitment of both finalists to their wonderful causes, the American Diabetes Association and Holly Rod Foundation for Families Dealing with Autism.

Coming into the Stretch

Work progressed feverishly in both camps on competing Snapple commercials, printed ads and presentations. Bret joked that there was nothing more fun than having 46 things to do in a day since he was determined to make two commercials even though they still had no dolly track and he had to improvise one with a rolling stool. His script was somehow misplaced and he didn't realize it was missing until he was halfway to the studio for editing. In the end, he was lucky just to get the one commercial done.

Meanwhile, Back in the Holly Camp

Things were also tense, especially when Curtis had to book for the evening to attend a friend's engagement party which put Holly under extra pressure.

A Pleasant Surprise

Bret and his partners were clearly taken by surprise at the arrival of his beautiful little daughter, Rain, who ran in and gave him a good-luck hug.

Launch Event

Although both Bret and Holly were nervous, each presentation went well with commercials, printed advertising media, and samples of TropiRocka (Bret's beverage) and Compassion Berry (Holly's beverage) being enthusiastically received by an audience who ended up giving an applause vote in Bret's favor. Snapple executives later said they liked Holly's label design better but preferred Bret's presentation.

Final Board Room

It seemed like old times again with Daryl Strawberry, Summer Sanders, and Bret Michaels in one corner, contending with Holly Peete Robinson, Curtis Stone and Maria Kinellas on the other side. Great team spirit abounded with a refreshingly notable lack of rancor or hostility and this included Donald Trump who gave Daryl a gift of $25,000 for his charity, The Daryl Strawberry Foundation (which also works on behalf of autistic children).

Bret won points for interjecting himself and his celebrity appeal into his commercial and comment was made that Holly had not done the same for her own (although she explained why she had not done so). Holly credited Curtis Stone with his special expertise and help in selecting the flavors for her excellent Compassion Berry drink. Trump said that the Snapple executives respected both finalists and felt that Holly qualified to be on the Snapple Board of Directors but that Bret was Snapple. Nobody ended up having to leave in a cab yet.

The Live Show

Mr. Trump had welcomed back Carole Leifer, Sinbad, Rod Blagojevich, Cyndi Lauper and Michael Johnson who were enthusiastically greeted by the audience. Holly was delighted to welcome her husband and children in a heart-warming reunion. Joan Rivers and Bill Rancic weighed in with their respective opinions with Joan rooting for Bret and Bill voting for Holly.

The Guy with the Backbeat and Heroic Heart

Bret entered to deafening applause and both he and Holly were cheered as they sat across the table for the last time with Mr. Trump who said many nice things about them both. Cyndi Lauper delivered a show-stopping rendition of I'm Just Your Fool which she dedicated to Bret. Mr. Trump told Holly how much he loved her and what she had done By that time, we all felt that way but I must admit that a lot of us were glad when Mr. Trump told Bret:

"You're HIRED!"

What a wonderful group formed this year's season of The Celebrity Apprentice. God bless them all and the charities they fought so hard for! Indeed, nice guys sometimes do finish first and I've got to say that this year, everyone ended up being a nice guy. That might have seemed a little strange at first but HEY, I could get used to this!