Joe Camp, the American writer and director, who is known for creating the Benji films, has died. He was 84. The news of his death was confirmed by his son filmmaker Brandon Camp, as per The Hollywood Reporter. Joe died at his home in Bell Buckle, Tennessee on Friday morning following a long illness. (Also read: Jennifer Lopez’s ‘This Is Me… Now’ Tour: Unexplained cancellations and chart woes)

Joe Camp death

Joe is widely known for his Benji films, but it was a difficult road to success for him. He had to raise $500,000 to make the first Benji film, about a mutt who saves a pair of children from kidnappers, which then went on to become the ninth-highest-grossing title of 1974, with $39 million in collections. The iconic track from the film, I Feel Love (Benji’s Theme), that was sung by Charlie Rich, even earned an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe.

Joe Camp’s son, filmmaker Brandon Camp, had told the same publication how no one was interested in making the film. “He screened it for every single studio, and each one passed. They all said, ‘No one is interested in this movie.’ ” Disappointed, Joe formed his own distribution company Mulberry Square Releasing in 1974 and marketed the movie.

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The success of Benji, with Higgins the dog, resulted in more films for the franchise, including For the Love of Benji (1977), The Phenomenon of Benji (1978) and Benji’s Very Own Christmas Story (TV short 1978) among others. The final two films of the franchise were made in 1987 with the help with Disney, which were Benji the Hunted and Benji: Off the Leash! in 2004.

Joe was an animal lover and also a bestselling author. He was also known for his work with horses. He is the author of the book The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd, which was published in 2008. The book revolved around his learnings and lessons from the time spent in working with the creatures.

The filmmaker is survived by his wife, Kathleen along with his two sons, Joe and Brandon; and his step-children David, Dylan and Allegra.

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