TENNESSEE, USA — Joe Camp, the filmmaker who created the “Benji” film franchise from the point of view of a lovable dog, has died at 84.
His son, director Brandon Camp, said in a statement that the cause was an unspecified illness, as reported by the New York Times and other media outlets.
His wife, Kathleen, wrote in a Facebook post alongside a photo of Camp, “Fly free my sweetie!”
Camp attended the University of Mississippi and formed his own Dallas-based film company, Mulberry Square Production, in 1971, through which the original “Benji” movie was produced. He described the process of filming the original 1974 movie and choosing McKinney as its primary shooting location to WFAA last year.
He raised the $500,000 to produce the film after being turned down by most major Hollywood studios at the time. The movie went on to gross $45 million at the box office and became a family classic. The movie's theme song, "I Feel Love" by Charlie Rich, was nominated for an Academy Award.
"We say that nobody has ever done a movie like this because it's from the dog's point of view," Camp told WFAA last year.
Well-known animal trainer Frank Inn came across a dog called Higgins at a California animal shelter that eventually became the film’s star.
More Benji movies followed, including a 2018 reboot co-written by Camp and directed by his son, Brandon.
The city of McKinney hosted a parade and unveiled a sculpture of Benji at Mitchell Park last year to celebrate the movie’s 50th anniversary.
USA Film Festival, a Dallas-based nonprofit film and video arts organization, remembered Camp as a “longtime USAFF supporter and friend.”
“Camp ignored W.C. Fields’ famous advice ‘never work with animals or children” and a canine star and successful film franchise were born,” the post read. “Our thoughts are with Joe’s family and many friends.”
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