Joe Camp, the writer of the beloved 1974 dog-focused film Benji, has passed away at the age of 84, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- According to his son, Camp passed away Friday morning in his home in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, after an extended illness.
- Camp wrote the treatment for Benji after staying up late one night with his Yorkshire terrier of the same name, and reading the emotions and reactions on the dog’s face.
- Camp explained that he got the story by “depicting what the animal was feeling, not what the animal was doing.”
- Camp went on to raise $500,000 to make Benji independently after multiple studios passed on the project.
- He formed Mulberry Square Releasing to distribute the feature in October 1974.
- The film went on to gross nearly $40 million and spark a franchise that created multiple films and series.
- It is estimated the franchise has grossed about $600 million if adjusted for inflation, which would make Camp one of the most successful independent filmmakers of all time.
- Camp also won an Emmy Award for outstanding children’s program for Benji at Work.
- He went on to contribute to the 2018 Benji reboot at Netflix, which was directed by his son Brandon Camp.
- Camp is survived by his first wife, Carolyn; second wife, Kathleen; sons Brandon and Joe Camp III; and step-children David, Dylan and Allegra.