
Joe Camp
Directing
Biography
Joe Camp (born April 20, 1939 in St. Louis, Missouri) was a motion picture director and writer. He is best known as the creator and director of the Benji films. Camp is also known for his work with horses. He wrote a book about his experiences with horses, The Soul of a Horse. Camp passed away on March 14, 2024, in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joe Camp, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Known For

Two school kids strike up a friendship with an orphaned puppy named Benji. When danger befalls them and they end up kidnapped by robbers who are in over their heads, Benji and his scruffy sidekick come to the rescue.
Benji

Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince is a live-action Hanna-Barbera and Mulberry Square children's science fiction television series created by Joe Camp, the creator of the Benji film franchise. The series aired Saturday mornings on CBS in 1983 with repeats airing in the United States and internationally for a number of years through the 1980s. The series was taped in various parts of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, with interiors taped at the Las Colinas studios in Irving, Texas. The entire series was released to DVD by GoodTimes Home Video as four separate releases of 3 or 4 episodes each and a single release with all 13 episodes.
Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince

Benji is a stray who has nonetheless worked his way into the hearts of a number of the townspeople, who give him food and attention whenever he stops by. His particular favorites are a pair of children who feed and play with him against the wishes of their parents. When the children are kidnapped, however, the parents and the police are at a loss to find them. Only Benji can track them down, but will he be in time? If he can save the day, he may just find the permanent home he's been longing for.
Benji

Browning is a PI with a bad cold, who's sent to investigate a case by a mysterious client. He stumbles across the body of a young woman and is stabbed to death, and when he wakes up in heaven, they tell him he's "marginal material," and they can only decide on his final destination through one last assignment: to go back and solve his own murder. As a dog. A cute fluffy little dog (Benji). Undaunted, Browning begins to investigate the case as best he can around his canine disabilities (dialing the phone presents a special challenge) to solve the murders, save the girl, and see justice done.
Oh! Heavenly Dog

Benji has become stranded on a remote island after a boating accident. He finds himself struggling to survive in the wilderness, avoiding close encounters with a wolf, a bear, and a territorial female cougar with her cub.
Benji the Hunted

Benji gets lost after a flight overseas and becomes a stray in Athens, Greece. He then tries everyday to reunite with his family while mysterious people pursue him, in a race to get a code which was secretly tattooed on his paw at the airport. But who are the bad guys and who are the agents that can be trusted? Will Benji and his kids and their nanny ever get to enjoy their vacation?
For the Love of Benji

Benji and his friends try to save his mother from a puppy mill.
Benji: Off the Leash!

Some school kids stumble across a briefcase full of money, when they go back for it, they find a body instead. When they bring the police, neither is there, and the police refuses to believe them. Later they discover both were part of an assassination plot. Now they have to figure out how to stop the plot and put the bad guys in jail.
The Double McGuffin

In old-west Texas, the cavalry's horses can't take the heat. So the military sends them camels instead, and assigns one man to convince the unit that the camels are a good idea.
Hawmps!

While on a publicity tour in Switzerland, Benji, Cindy Smith, and Patsy Garrett convince Kris Kringle that his place on Christmas Eve is delivering presents to all "his" families all over the world.
Benji's Very Own Christmas Story

As the lovable mutt prepares to perform the first SCUBA dive by an animal, a villain attempts to prevent it.
Benji (Takes a Dive) at Marineland
The story of Higgins the dog, who appeared in on the TV series "Petticoat Junction," and the played the title role in the film "Benji."