| Joseph A. McPhillips III | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph A. McPhillips III 1937 Mobile, Alabama |
| Died | June 11, 2007 (aged 70) Tangier, Morocco |
| Occupation | Headmaster, Teacher |
| Nationality | American |
| Relative(s) | Caroline Meador (sister), Dr. Frank McPhillips Jr. (brother), Frank McPhillips Jr.; Lissette McPhillips Perez-Carrillo |
Joseph A. McPhillips III, headmaster of the American School of Tangier, died on June 11, 2007 at his home on the Old Mountain Road, in Tangier, Morocco. He was 70 years old.
McPhillips was born in 1937 in Mobile, Alabama and graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover and Princeton University (1958).[1] McPhillips came to Tangier in 1962 to teach English literature at the American School, established in 1950, and the oldest American school in Morocco. In 1973, he succeeded Omar Pound as headmaster, beginning a tenure that would span four decades and define the institution's standards and values.
McPhillips told the Washington Post, in a 2003 interview, that the American School was "the Andover of the Mediterranean. We provide an old-fashioned education. Students rise when adults come into the room. They read Lord Jim and Julius Caesar. There's not a lot of ancillary nonsense in the curriculum." As well as a rigorous and passionate teacher and administrator, McPhillips was a poet and prolific and gifted theater director. His annual American School plays became a Tangier tradition, and since 1964 he personally directed more than 20 of them. McPhillips's direction and producing turned the convention of high school play into high-quality dramatic art. The 1992 production of Euripides Hippolytos, in Arabic, featured an original Paul Bowles score and costumes designed by Yves St. Laurent.[2] His staging of Tennessee Williams' Camino Real in Tangier's Petit Socco plaza was the fulfillment of McPhillips's personal promise to the playwright. In his hands, the school's annual Christmas play was based on the Koranic version of the Bethlehem story.
Among his many friends in Tangier and abroad, McPhillips had a long friendship with Jane and Paul Bowles, and at Mr. Bowles death he became the executor of the Bowles estate, a responsibility which began with personally transporting the urn carrying Bowles to his family in New York State. McPhillips, who lived in Morocco continuously until his death, told the Washington Post, "I asked Paul once, 'You've lived outside America so long, and you've travelled so extensively. Do you still feel American?' He simply said, 'I Am American. I always will be.'"
In 1995, McPhillips established the American School of Marrakesh, a sister-institution to the Tangier school, that began with first graders and grew up with its pupils, and 12 years later McPhillips was looking forward to the graduation of that first class. Over his career, McPhillips's forceful and uncompromising personality left an indelible stamp on thousands of young people, and made him a national treasure for his adoptive home country of Morocco. The day before McPhillips' death, he confirmed graduation plans and oversaw a rehearsal of this year's play, Edward Albee's Zoo Story, in the Salle Beckett in Tangier. With his usual enthusiasm he told his two young actors it was "the best American School play ever." The play will be staged as scheduled on June 14.
The American School graduation will take place as scheduled on June 15, with the United States Ambassador to Morocco Thomas T. Riley, American troubadour Jimmy Buffett, and representatives of the Moroccan government and royal family expected in attendance.[3]
A memorial book from McPhillips's international circle of friends is planned, and written contributions are welcome. The American School plans to establish a Joseph A. McPhillips III Fund in his memory, and encourages donations to the fund in lieu of flowers. Mr. McPhillips is survived by a sister, Caroline Meador, and a brother, Frank McPhillips Jr., both of Mobile, Alabama, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mr. McPhillips wished to be buried on the grounds of the American School of Tangier.