Dick Alen, now an 84-year-old retired William Morris agent who worked alongside Illius for more than 30 years in the personal-appearances department, doesn't remember ever hearing any allegation that Cosby drugged or assaulted women and says he cannot believe his longtime colleague knowingly facilitated or covered up that kind of wrongdoing. Alen, whose clients included Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin and Julio Iglesias, says he and Illius "were very friendly, and I never, ever heard him mention drugs and Cosby in any shape or form, … and I never heard anything about a coercive thing with girls."
At the same time, Alen says if Cosby asked Illius to send money to women, the agent would have followed orders. "Cosby or any artist could call us — who were longtime friends as well as agents — and say: 'Hey, do me a favor. Give $100 to this [person], I'll reimburse you,' " says Alen. "You don't ask why. Your big client wants you to do a favor, you do it. Why is none of your business. You never ask." (In fact, in Cosby's deposition, he said Illius did not ask questions about the payment and was not told the purpose of it.)
According to Alen, Illius' job was to handle bookings, from specifics of the contract and venue to the smallest details. "Tom would be responsible that everything was done the way Cosby wanted," he says. "Is the dressing room the way Cosby wanted it? Was there a television set to show the football games on Sunday?" (Alen remembers this as a key concern.) Another member of the Cosby camp remembers being in the star's dressing room once as Cosby ate a well-sauced sandwich and seeing Illius dart over to lay a napkin in his lap.
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