this is "piers morgan live." welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. billy ray cyrus, you may think you know him celebrity dad, of course, but what you don't know is billy ray cyrus is a man of strong opinions and tonight he's bringing it all to my table. his daughter miley, that controversy, america, syria, guns. plus the pope's surprising new attitude on gays and abortion. he's thought on two classic sitcoms. why did bob newhart win his first emmy at the age of 84. what he tells me tonight exclusively. it's a big story, a big interview, billy ray cyrus

probably the most famous father on planet earth right now. billy ray, how are you? >> i'm doing great. i just met bob newhart. i'm telling you, star struck. he's such a great actor. he's entertained our families for years. and he's as beautiful and wonderful in person as he is on tv. it was a real honor to -- probably the closest i'll ever come to an emmy, i held his. >> i've never met bob newhart, he's a true television legend. it's great you met in the back. right, billy ray cyrus. so i have for the last three weeks been informing america that i love what miley did and i've also been explaining how i've been twerking in the caribbean for at least 30 years. nothing new to people of the cutting edge of this art form. but everyone's been asking, what does billy ray think? you're her father, right. so what is your view of this

huge miley controversy? >> i'm a singer/songwriter first and foremost. and i'm her daddy. i come from that school of as a singer/songwriter as a musician that it starts with a song. and it's that magic moment when a song finds the right artist, the right singer and it becomes a of that moment in time. she's an artist, she's real. i think what's happened over the years, miley has been reinventing her sound. she's evolving as an artist herself. i think that it's all of what everyone is calling controversy now. still -- that's still my miley. that's still -- >> did you know what she was going to do at the awards?

>> i knew that she was wanted to do something really special and something that everybody was going to be talking about. i knew that she had put in a great deal of practice and thought into what was going to happen in new york. again, it became that moment of a singer/songwriter/entertainer finding that special moment. and again, sometimes controversy lies in that special moment. i've never known any great artist that was lukewarm and the fans were just in the middle on it. you either love it or you hate it. >> this is what i've been saying. you look at madonna or rihanna or britney spears or even beyonce. go back to the elvis, beatles, stones. the thing they all had was they did stuff that was pushing the boundaries. and miley's not hannah montana anymore. she's a 20-year-old woman who wants to express herself as an artist. and i get that but you also know a lot of people have hated what

she did. they think it's outrageous. they want her to stay little sweet hannah montana. what do you say to these people who perhaps were huge fans of hannah montana and feel uncomfortable about the direction she's taken? >> well, that's what music is supposed to do is make you feel. that's what music is supposed to do. and you can either love it or hate it. that's everyone's right to do so because it's art. miley again, you know, i think that she could've went out and sang the song in a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans and it would have still been just as strong. would we have been here talking about it? no way. >> it wouldn't have had the same effect. >> no way. we wouldn't be talking about it. >> she married a great song with a brilliant marketing campaign. i want to play a clip. this is from a new documentary she's made which hasn't been released yet, but it has the moment. and when she talks about the build-up to what happened. >> you're always going to make people talk. you might as well make them talk

for like two weeks rather than two seconds. >> i love that. >> wow. >> what that shows is somebody who has really thought this through. she didn't want to make just a small impact. she wanted to make a global impact which lasted several weeks and, boy did she do that. now right now today, miley cyrus number one in america and number one in pretty much every country in the western world. job done from a marketing point of view. >> well, miley is a very, very smart young lady. and reinvention is tough, you know, it's that intangible. you either find it or you don't. and sometimes it takes that evolution. as my buddy said, you know, finding your sound, that's the intangible. that's the part you can't buy. you find it or you have it or you don't. miley has been around a lot of the greats like dolly who have went through that continual process of reinvention. miley's smart enough to know

that to come out of the shadows of hannah montana, it really takes something extremely drastic. which when you go to that level, it creates passion and passion is either love or hate. but there's no middle of the road for passion. >> does she have any regrets about it? or is she loving every second of the mayhem it's caused? >> she's been so busy. i mean every single night she's in the studio. she's writing, creating, rehearsing for this big show. >> she's probably watching tonight. miley, if you're watching, keep it going. but we're watching the video from "wrecking ball." let me ask you, i'm a dad. just had a little baby girl, she's nearly 2 years old. so i'm going to go through all this when she's in her teens and stuff. and i don't know how comfortable i will feel if i see my girl suddenly turning into a twerker. what is it like for the dad in you? not the artist, but the dad billy ray to watch his girl on

stage, not wearing many clothes, doing the twerking and then the wrecking ball and so on? >> piers, let me warn you, it gets even stranger when that little girl becomes a young lady -- >> right. >> and you go on twitter and you see where people have put her on top of your head. and i've seen the craziest things just looking -- and i get a laugh out of it too. i've seen crazy stuff. twitter has been just -- it's the universal language. you stay in touch, again, with the love and the hate. but that's people's emotions. >> does any of it make you feel uncomfortable as a dad or not? >> as a dad? >> yeah. >> not really -- >> i'm curious. i think this is brilliant, but i'm thinking if i was billy ray and i've got the pleasure of knowing you pretty well. i just wonder what the dad in you feels. whether you can celebrate the glory of the pop moment but also be a little bit like, my girl's grown up. >> there she is. that's very accurate there. and, you know, for me to think

how hard she's worked to get to this point and what a risk, just the fact that she went and cut her hair off. that was huge. she could've -- she could've stayed hannah montana forever and made a great living doing that. but she's more of an artist than that. and she wanted to evolve and she had to take her time, let that evolution take place. and, again, she's very, very smart and she's had all of this thought out in advance. there's been times where i've seen, you know, things going on with miley. she knows the chart, she set a path, she knew what she wanted to do. in today's world, the shock factor is tremendously higher than it used to be. >> and also with miley, i always feel, is that like we see her stumbling out of nightclubs or in some sort of scandal or, you know, sort of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll stuff you might see with lindsay lohan and others, i've not seen that side to her. i mean, have i missed it all or has she been pretty good? >> she's never been arrested, you know.

she's really very focused and loves way she's doing. that's the main thing for me as a dad to see my little girl doing what she loves, making the music that she loves to make and hanging out with some incredibly talented producers, singer/songwriters, the musicians, the people that's around her right now. it's just a great creativity. >> you've been through this after "achy breaky heart," i remember that well. and also her mom. i've been chatting with, i've never really talked to before. delightful lady, very strong and very close to miley, as well. but let me put this to you. you're part of the parental television counsel known for conservative values. they attacked the performance and said mtv once again had succeeded using former child stars and so on. you've seen all that. >> yeah. >> you're a responsible guy and i know you're a respectful man

in that sense. what is your response to those like that council and people who have subscribed to it who have got serious concerns about what miley did. >> well, i'm on the council, you know. i will say in ten years, i don't recall ever being invited to a meeting. so i'm not exactly sure what the council does. but i started -- >> well, they get very angry about things like miley. >> they sure do too. my first series was called doc then we came and did hannah montana. i've been on that council for a while. but, you know, hey, everybody's entitled to their opinions, you know. you know the old saying -- you know the old saying, right? you don't want me to say it, do you? >> you can. >> well, opinions are like everybody has one. you know what i'm talking about. >> on a personal level. >> fill in the word.

>> did you get angry when people would go after miley given she's only 20 and they attack her. a lot of it's very positive, but a lot of it's vicious. >> i'm her daddy. it's -- i think at times, you know, being her dad i -- i may take it a little more serious. that's my daughter, you know. but i have had to learn. just stay focused on what you love, do what you do because you love it. be thankful and grateful for the fans that you have that do appreciate the art that you make. and you know what, again, you know for every action there's an opposite and equal reaction. >> did you ever think she'd be the biggest pop star in the world, though? she's been famous but this is a whole new level, isn't it? >> it does seem like a whole new level. and yeah, she has been very famous. but she has risen to a whole new level. and it's -- i thought i'd seen it all until these last couple of weeks.

and the whole thing kind of went to a whole new level. >> well, i think she's terrific, miley cyrus. >> thank you. i think she is too. >> brilliant bit of pop marketing. she's got great parents and a great plan and she's having fabulous success. long may she continue. let's take a break and come back and talk about other things. you were telling me you watched the rick warren interview the other night and were moved by that. i want to talk to you about that and about other stuff going on in the country right now. >> okay. ♪ this is for you.

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♪ >> billy ray cyrus' latest album, "change my mind" and billy ray is back with me exclusively. you're watching rick warren and kay warren interview, moving interview about the tragic suicide of their 27-year-old son matthew. and you were telling me before we'd started the interview about the effect that rick warren had had on your life with his book. tell me about that. >> right. incredible. his book came into my life in a time period where it was

absolutely a god thing that his words in that book appeared in my life. it was a pretty tough time period and i began to study purpose driven life. and quite frankly, i'm living it today. that's really my -- that's my goal in life and what i do with my music and my life is to -- i'm searching for purpose. and every single day i feel like it's part of the reason that i think god has, you know, allowed me to live this life as i have a purpose to fulfill and i pray god will give me the wisdom and vision to fulfill that purpose. rick warren's book, it came at a time when i needed it most. and him and his wife, that interview moved me deeply. i wanted to take this moment to express my sadness for them and at their loss of their son but at the same time i gathered again from their strength what

incredibly strong people. and that strength and their courage, it reciprocates as they speak the words, you feel their emotion. >> let's take a look. >> they're great people. >> i want to show a clip and ask you about it in particular. let's watch this. >> there must have been a moment after matthew took his life when even you questioned your faith in god. >> i never questioned my faith in god. i questioned god's plan. there's a big difference. >> you mentioned to me that you had a very close friend who took his life. >> that's right. >> with a gun. exactly as matthew warren did. tell me about that. >> it was a year after we graduated high school. it was my very best friend robby tully, and it was the most unexpected moment.

robby was a superstar at our school in sports and everybody loved robby. if he had just went through a situation in life that i don't know how that happened but somehow maybe, again, i wish i would have known -- i wish i would have been able to do more, i wish there was something i could have done more to help robby. but somehow i think that he had thought that life had got the better of him and just wanted out. i think that's why it's so important these days in what rick is doing through matthew -- of getting word out of how to get help. people out there need to know that someone will listen, somebody cares. and matthew is in a better place. i think that he is without a doubt gone to heaven and looking back now, looking down on this earth and spreading his light and his love.

>> do you think about your friend often? >> every single day. every single day i think of robby and quite frankly i do use that thought. i think that's one of the reasons why ever since i lost robby, that's when i began struggling to find my purpose. i felt like how could it -- >> did you question your faith at all? >> i did. i did. i've questioned it since then and questioned it, you know, even recently. but when you hear the words and you know that you just got to believe, you've got to have hope. you've got to believe in something. i think that's one of the things about a world where we're at now. this is a time for love, not hate. we need to build bridges, you know, not tear them down. and i thought what the pope said

today. you know, love and mercy was powerful statement. >> and an extraordinary statement by this pope who is an extraordinary man. we'll be debating the pope after we finish this interview with three experts because what he's really preaching is what i think america and britain and other countries need. it's just more tolerance generally. whether it's political, whether it's religious, whether it's sexual, whatever it is, racial, just more tolerance. >> absolutely. that's exactly right. yeah. >> because if you don't have that, you just have endless right? >> that's right. the songs i write come from within. i just write what i feel and very real. the songs, they just come from the emotions of my past, present and in some ways the future. this song that coming out now is

called "hope is just ahead." it's looking at the moment that we're in now and you know there's a lot of stuff going on in this world that brings danger and a lot of things need fixed. but without hope, you don't have nothing, you know. so i think that's the message that this song and that's what i'm trying to live now is just bringing hope and bringing light into this world of this -- you know, there's so much darkness around every corner, you know. and, again, going back to rick warren. a guy like that can feed our souls, our souls need fed. >> yeah, i found him incredibly inspiring and his wife. the fact they go through that tragedy and still be positive and inspiring. >> that's right. >> changing things for the good was just so powerful to me. >> that's right. >> to have experienced that firsthand with people grieving to intently.

billy ray, i could talk to you all night. it's been a terrific interview. you are coming back later in the show with your other daughter brandy and you'll be singing for us. what will you be singing for us? >> "hope is just ahead." >> thank you so much. >> thank you. honor to be with you. thank you. coming up next, surprising statements from the pope as we just said. is it a new direction for the catholic church? woman: everyone in the nicu -- all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you every moment.

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tonight, the new pope takes on an image problem in a surprising newspaper interview, pope francis says the church is obsessed with talking about abortion and same-sex marriage and he believes it's time to stop interfering spiritually with the lives of gays and lesbians. some call it unprecedented makeover for a modern catholic church.

joining us the author of "dilemma." and edward beck and bill donahue, president of the catholic league. bill donahue, let me ask you, first of all, you're pretty well-known hard line conservative on these matters, are you happy with the direction the pope wants to take you? >> yes, i'm delighted with it and i wish he would read exactly what he said instead of being interpreted through other people's eyes. look, he's a reformer, he wants to shake things up and i think too many people on the right and left have gotten into their comfort zones. there are tough battles about abortion, homosexuality, the poor, the environment, they've lost sight about what the catholic church is about. the catholic church is not about any of those subjects as important as they are, it's about salvation. i think what this pope wants to do is to cast it wide, get your feet on the grounds, look at the macro picture. i'm all in favor of that. >> okay. father, would you go along with that?

or would you go a little further and sense that perhaps what the pope is doing is preaching an altogether more tolerant catholic church? >> i think that the pope is refreshing just because he's speaking about these things. he's not trying to shove the problems under the carpet. a few months back, we saw how he acknowledged publicly in a group of people who visited him in the vatican that there was a vatican gay lobby that had to be dealt with, that there were several things happening that needed reform and now he's talking about the bigger picture, all the issues that society always struggles when they talk about church. churches are supposed to receive you and welcome you and love you and communicate the love of god. that's one of the things i see in this pope that's so refreshing, taking us back to the basics, the gospel. it's about living the gospel of jesus christ, not about telling people what part of hell they're going to be in for the rest of eternity. >> father edward beck, this is what this will do or what it already is doing is making the

whole catholic church talk about it and say, right, what does he mean? what does this mean for us? what does this mean for our diocese and so on? it seems pretty clear he was saying, look, you can bang on about these issues very loudly in a very what many people see as bordering on bigoted manner or we can be a more tolerant church that talks about these things in a more sensible and tolerant manner. now, am i reading too much into it? or is he edging more that way than perhaps his predecessor ever would've done? >> no, piers, i think you're exactly right. he's talking about the church as healing wounded people. that's what struck me over and over again in this interview. he talked about healing the wounded. it was very interesting to me. he said, the confessional is not supposed to be a torture chamber. if a woman who had been divorced and had an abortion, bad first marriage, comes to confession and now she's happily married

has five kids, are you going to go back and focus on the abortion and divorce or lead her forward in her life in the happiness she's been called to? he calls himself a sinner. that's how it starts the article. when the interviewer says who are you? he says, first and foremost, i'm a sinner. and then he places himself next to every other sinner. i think that part is remarkable. >> yeah, i totally agree. now bill donahue, when he said this, tell me when god looks at a gay person, does he endorse existence of this person with love or reject and condemn this person? we must always consider the person here we enter into the mystery of the human being. again, i couldn't imagine any of his predecessors saying something quite like that about gay people. would you endorse every word of what he said? >> not only would i endorse it but i do disagree with you. there's nothing that john paul ii or benedict xvi ever said that would condemn a person because he was gay. we said there are certain acts such as homosexuality and certain institutions such as

marriage which should not be changed to appease those people who want gay marriage. that is profoundly different from condemning a person because he's gay. >> notice, piers, pope francis is not talking about acts, he's talking about people. he said drop the categories of sin, let's focus on the -- >> no, never said that. >> the mercy of people. he said do not categorize sin. >> as a matter of fact, if you read it carefully, father, what you'll find is that he's against the rigorous on the right and those priests too lax, the ones that deny the existence of sin, it's in the statement, important for people to read what the pope said -- >> one of the things i see is today in america, all of these groups who have been for i would say more than two decades pushing the constant, constant issue of contraception, the evils of contraception, the whole abortion issue, the issue towards the attitudes that are

sometimes so negative toward homosexual persons and their acts. today they must be worried because this pope is telling them, you know what, stop it. you know, let's focus on the gospel, focus on welcoming and loving people and let's help them through the process of whatever it is they have to deal with and that's one thing that the pope has not said in the past. and if someone tells me that what this pope is saying is not something new, they haven't been paying attention for a long time. he's saying many new things. >> yeah. also, he goes further. he says this, we have to find a new balance otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards losing the freshness and fragrance of the gospel. bill donahue, whichever way you try to spin that, that is a guy laying down a big marker to the catholic church and to all catholics, you've got to move with the times a bit or we won't have a church.

>> let me say something. stop the hyperventilation on the right. those people in mourning. stop the hyperventilation on the left, those people are ready to pop the champagne. he's not going to change the church's teachings on gay marriage, not going to change the teachings on women's ordination, and the faster people get that, the better. >> you seem very -- you seem very certain of this. >> absolutely. i am very certain. i couldn't be more certain of anything in the world. >> okay. >> but he certainly -- >> should e ever change his mind. father cutie, you were shaking your head through. bill donahue seems absolutely convinced about all this. i must say, i wouldn't be running to the bookmakers to put heavy bets on this particular pope not actually moving with the times a bit. >> i'll tell you -- people in all denominations today are wondering why this pope is saying what he's saying and they do see a sense of reform taking place. not just in the roman catholic church, in society and the way we view religion and religious people. for too long, religious leaders

have been looked as, you know, the people who condemn you. this pope is saying, guess what, i'm about welcoming people. i call people on the phone and have personal conversations with them. and i tell them they're loved by god and that i will baptize that child that was born out of wedlock. you know how many priests i've met in the roman catholic church that will still not baptize a child because those parents were not married by a priest in a church or will deny people the sacraments for all kinds of reasons they shouldn't be denying them. this pope is saying, guess what, we should begin to think differently and i think that's reform. >> are you coming back, father? or are you going to stay where you are? are you coming back, is that what you're saying, father? >> i'm not coming back. you know that. >> let's get that clear. >> you know that very well. >> celibacy's another issue this pope is talking about. some people will accept it and sometimes they won't talk about it. that's the truth. >> well, the one thing i can say with absolute certainty is this debate is being had all over the world right now amongst catholics and that in itself to me is as a catholic is extremely

encouraging. and i love this pope, i think he's a breath of fresh air and long may he continue to challenge the boundaries and get us talking. gentlemen, thank you all very much. >> thank you. >> thank you, piers. >> thank you. next, a true comedy icon. there's no point in introducing this guy, bob newhart, and he's clutching after 84 years his first emmy. bob, welcome. >> thank you. >> is it as big and heavy as it looks? >> it's heavy. >> always wanted to hold one of these. thank you to my parents. [ sneezes, coughs ]

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i can get as close to you as i want without my mom saying it's going to ruin my eyes. >> is he dangerous? >> actually, he's a genius. >> i am. >> that doesn't answer my question. >> bob newhart has been a tv legend for 55 years. his classic '70s series ran for eight years and newhart ran for eight more seasons in the '80s. it was that performance from the "big bang theory" that the comedy icon finally earned his first emmy at the age of 84. and in the chair with me tonight, i'm delighted to say is bob newhart. bob, congratulations. >> thank you, piers. thank you very much. >> 84 years it took you to get one of those.

>> well, someone asked me why, you know, why i -- this is the first time -- people had assumed i won seven or eight. and i hadn't. and the obvious explanation is because there was better people in my category than me. that's why. >> that's never the case, actually, is it? you just haven't bought enough people off. you apparently had eight versions of your acceptance speech ready over the last 52 years. were there any names on the original acceptance speech that actually survived to the moment when you won one? >> i think i -- i think i thanked mr. ed. >> mm-hmm. >> your wife. >> yes, my wife of 50 years. she was the first one. >> yep. >> i thanked -- when i got up there, i had some things i was going to say.

but they only give you about 40 seconds to -- >> well, didn't you get a chance to say what you would like to have said? it's been so long coming and so incredibly deserved. >> well, what happened was i got -- i got up -- i heard my name and i turned to my wife and gave her a kiss and then i walked up and then i saw this and suddenly realized it was going to be in my house. and then i looked at the audience and they gave me a standing ovation. and that just destroyed me. >> how did it make you feel? >> well, first of all, it's your peers. you know, it's your peers are saying -- and i had kind of -- i kind of said, well, i'm just never going to get one. when you come from a stand-up comedy world, it's like let's just -- that's bob being bob and that's bill cosby being bill

cosby and that's jerry seinfeld being jerry seinfeld. and a lot more goes into it than that. that's how it struck me. >> how did your great friend 16:54:36: don rick ls respond to this? >> he wrote me a letter. it took him several days to -- >> to muster up some form of sincerity. >> to pay me some sort of compliment. >> let's watch the clip from the great days of "newhart." let's see this. >> oh, okay. >> wake up you. you won't believe the dream i just had. don't you want to hear about it?

>> all right, bob. what is it? >> well, i was an innkeeper in this crazy little town in vermont. >> i'm happy for you. >> "rolling stone" magazine, that was the finale of newhart. >> my wife's idea, by the way. >> "rolling stones" said it was the number one sitcom finale ever. it was up there with the moon landing. your wife had that idea, right? for the finale scene? >> yeah, it happened in the newhart around eight years, it was in the sixth year and i was kind of unhappy with the -- they were moving us around to 8:30 and then 9:30. and then we were at a christmas party in beverly hills. and we were waiting in line to get our picture taken with the host and hostess. and i said, you know, honey, i think this is going to be the

last year. and she knew i wasn't happy. and she said right there. she said, well, you've got to end the show with a dream sequence. and, you know, you wake up in bed and susie's there and you explain this weird dream you had of owning an inn in vermont. and said, oh, what a great idea. and susie was -- happened to be at the same party and we told her and she said -- she said i'll be there in a new york minute she said. >> and it was an amazing television moment. but you owe it to your wife. is she the real comic genius, bob? >> she has been amply rewarded for that. >> let's take a break. let's come back and talk more about comedy. you are a catholic. >> yeah. >> and you confided in me before we started that a catholic priest tried to stop you marrying your wife on the grounds you were both show business sinners.

i want to discuss that with you. >> it's really you. >> i am so sorry. we should've told you about the broken elevator. >> i agree. al advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ woman ] if you have the nerve to believe that cookie cutters should be for cookies, not your investment strategy. if you believe in the sheer brilliance of a simple explanation. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do: face time and think time make a difference. join us. [ male announcer ] at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing.

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you know those people you go to new york with who are afraid to fly? >> yeah. >> i'm one of them. >> you're afraid of flying? >> that's what i said. >> why? that's just stupid. >> i'm back with the emmy award winning man himself, bob newhart. someone just tweeted i never heard you laugh as you are loudly tonight with the legendary bob newhart. you're responsible for more people suffering ruptures of their spleens from laughing. tell me about your wife, you've been married 50 years. she's obviously a comic genius like you. but you told us this lovely

story before we went on air, you were listening to the debate about the new pope. tell me about your story. >> well, 50 years ago, we were married 50 years in january. we went to this priest, catholic priest, we were both catholic. and he asked me what i did and i said that i -- at that time i had a television show. and he asked what she did. >> ginnie was an extra on "ozzie and harriet." they said one day you want ricky to sing a song? her line was "yeah, yeah." so he said, well, i can't marry you. and i said, why not? he said, well because show business marriages never last. so when we celebrate our 50th, i wanted to invite him. but i don't even know if he's still a priest. >> never mind your marriage.

that's a great story. do you like the new pope? are you a fan? >> i think he is as you say a breath of fresh air. i especially loved -- i have my sister is a religious. she's a nun. >> oh, really? >> yeah. and so i especially loved when he said that women have to take a more prominent -- sisters have to take a more prominent role in the church. and that was -- he's just -- he's just extraordinary. >> he does seem a special guy to me. i think he's going to be a big shakeup for the church and it's long overdue. let's talk about comedy. the nature of comedy change but does it really change? you were telling me there's a new miniseries on johnny carson. you stood in for him 80 times. but does comedy staple the same or do the jokes get repackaged? >> no, i don't think they get repackaged. but steve allen used to say --

he borrowed it from gertrude stein. funny is funny is funny. >> who do you find funny of the modern crop of comedians when you see them? >> well of course, it's not the modern crop anymore. i enjoy jerry seinfeld. i enjoyed rickles. i have to say that. >> when i say modern i don't mean don rickels. he's even older than you. >> you said it. i didn't say it. >> is he the modern crop? if -- if don rickles is the future. we've got to have somebody below 90. don rickles is watching this he can't believe his luck. you've proclaimed had him the future of comedy. anybody under 90 that makes you laugh? >> i couldn't put my finger on them, no. [ laughter ]

>> do you like ricky gervais and russell brand and that style of british -- >> brand i'm not familiar with with his work. >> what about ricky gervais? when you see him monstering people at the emmys do you find it funny? >> once i get the translation, yes, i find myself laughing, yes. >> i put him to the test the other day ricky gervais. i said if you had five minutes to live what is the joke you would tell? he was deeply offensive at my expense which knowing him as i do exactly how he would wish to die and i wouldn't care because he's about to die. what would be the joke you would do? >> jay leno called me up and congratulated me on the emmy. he said his favorite joke they told on his show about this -- this man who was -- this spaceship landed and these aliens took him on this spaceship. and they took him up to mars and he was on mars for about a month.

and he came back. and of course, immediately the cia took him in to interrogate him. and they said, did you find that the civilization was more advanced than ours? and he said oh, yes, it was more advanced. and they said, by how much would you say? he said, i would say six weeks [ laughter ] >> he said, because you know those disposable raise razeor? they already had them up there. we got them six weeks later. >> they've probably already got don rickles. it's been such a joy to interview you. congratulations on the emmy. you'll return on "the big bang theory" and standup tour around america. i don't know how you do it but you're an amazing trouper. up next billy ray cyrus is

back with an exclusive musical performance with his daughter. the other one. can shop around--ers see who does good work and compare costs. it doesn't usually work that way with health care. but with unitedhealthcare, i get information on quality rated doctors, treatment options and estimates for how much i'll pay. that helps me, and my guys, make better decisions. i don't like guesses with my business, and definitely not with our health. innovations that work for you. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

"ac 360 later" later in a few moments. right now billy ray cyrus is here to perform his new song "hope is just ahead" with his daughter brandy. ♪ i wonder why so i turned on the evening news ♪

♪ children running from their schools because of some damn fool had no morals ♪ ♪ another kid laid in blood another town drowned in a flood ♪ ♪ just a tragic trail of tears lessons not learned through the years heaven save us from our fears ♪ ♪ hope is just ahead sorrow's just behind us ♪ ♪ we shall see what we shall find and that truth will show in time ♪