Q: How many Benjis have there been?


A: There is only one Benji at any given time, but, over time, three different dogs have played the role in films and on television. According to Joe Camp, Benji's creator, Benji is an eternal character and an ever-living manifestation of love, hope, compassion, and the values of persistence toward a goal. The current Benji is the second female to play the role. Between the two they have starred in four of the five Benji theatrical films and all of the television productions. Only the first movie starred a male. His real name was Higgins but soon after the movie even his trainer was calling him Benji. Before the film Benji, Higgins starred for years in a television series entitled Petticoat Junction.

Q: Who the heck is Joe Camp?


A: Joe Camp is the man who created the floppy-eared superstar Benji. Camp has written, produced and directed seven theatrical motion pictures cumulatively grossing the equivalent of over $600 million in today’s dollars, making him one of the most successful independent filmmakers of all time. He has also written or co-written and directed and/or produced four network television specials and a network series. The new film Benji Off the Leash was written, produced (along with producer Margaret Loesch) and directed by Camp. And, for the first time, the canine superstar, adopted from a shelter in Gulfport, Mississippi, is living with Camp and his wife Kathleen, three kids, three other dogs (two adopted), two cats, and five horses (one adopted).

Joe's new book The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd was published in May of 2008 by Random House/Harmony Books. The book has been enthusiastically received by critics and readers alike and at this writing (Novemeber, 2008) is already in its 3rd printing.

When he first developed the Benji character, he was told by industry "experts" not to bother; that it wouldn't work. But Joe didn't listen. He wrote, produced, and directed Benji. And financed it with private funding. When completed, the film was turned down by every major film distributor in Hollywood, so Camp and his partner Ed Vanston had to form their own dis tribution company, Mulberry Square Releasing to release the picture themselves. That same company released Benji Off the Leash worldwide in 2004.

Joe is currently working on a new book DOG KNOWS BEST: All You Ever Needed to Know About Life is Right There at your Feet and writing the screenplay for Benji's next movie (with wild horses) entitled Benji and Mustang Lost.

Q: Where did the three dogs who have played Benji in movies come from?


A: The dog that played the original Benji was adopted from the Burbank Animal Shelter by trainer Frank Inn. The second dog to play Benji was Higgins' daughter. That pup made three movies, four television specials, and a TV series. The third, and current Benji, was adopted from the Humane Society of South Mississippi after a search in shelters all across the country, and starred in the 2004 film Benji Off the Leash. The original Benji caused over one million adoptions from shelters across the country according to the American Humane so Joe and Kathleen felt this would be a worthwhile goal again, thus the search for the current Benji. Since that time Benji has generated more than one billion media exposures for shelters and adoptions everywhere.

Q: How will Benji promote more adoptions of dogs from shelters?


A: According to Camp, animal shelters are under-financed, staffs are underpaid, heavily dependent upon volunteers, and have no budgets to remind people about the wonderful pets available for adoption. It is his desire, through the publicity generated by Benji, to encourage people to look first to shelters to find pets as loving and caring as Benji. Which is why Benji and Joe are forming Benji's Buddies, a non-profit corporation to promote adoptions across the country.

Q: What kind of dog is Benji?

A: The current Benji is a female mixed breed. Owner-creator Joe Camp believes there might be some Tibetan Terrier, and perhaps a bit of spaniel because she spreads out on the floor like a bear rug with her back legs splayed out behind her, a trait of spaniels. But no one knows for sure because the new Benji was adopted from an animal shelter after being picked up on the streets of Pass Christian, Mississippi. The original Benji (Higgins) was also a mixed breed of questionable heritage. The second Benji was the daughter of the first.

Q: How old is the new Benji?


A: Vets estimate that Benji wa s just under one year old when she was adopted in November of 2001. When her first movie was released she was just over three-and-a-half. At this writing in late 2008 she's seven.

Q: How can a person find a breed of dog like Benji?


A: You may check with your local animal rescue shelter, but there are also other sources to help you in your search, such as www.petfinder.com

Q: Was this dog the only one considered for the role?


A: No. After Joe Camp decided to locate the star for the next Benji movie in a shelter, a national search was initiated to find the perfect dog. The search through the nation's animal shelters began in Chicago and traveled to Minneapolis, St. Paul, Atlanta, Anniston, Alabama, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Jackson and Gulfport, Mississippi. In addition, several national organizations and internet pet adoption services helped spread the search through shelters all across the country and thousands of photos were screened. The process led to three finalists, all of whom were put through what Camp’s wife Kathleen calls Benji Boot Camp with a week of intensive training before a decision was made, all of which was covered on ABC-TV's Primetime Thursday and Good Morning America.

Q: What happened to the other two dogs after the selection was made?


A: The dog adopted from a Los Angeles shelter, a male, lived with Margaret Loesch, the other producer of Benji Off the Leash, until he recently died from congestive heart failure. Te Chicago dog's clownish personality won him a role in Benji Off the Leash as Benji’s unwanted, happy-go-lucky sidekick.

Q: How many Benji movies have been produced, and what are the titles?


A: Before Benji Off the Leash, Benji has been in three actual Benji movies, plus one additional film where he and Chevy Chase played the same character. They are:

1. Benji (original)
2. For the Love of Benji
3. Oh Heavenly Dog
4. Benji the Hunted

In addition, Benji has made four prime time television specials for ABC and a series for CBS.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Benji™ and Joe Camp's Benjiare registered trademarks of Mulberry Square Productions,
Copyright ©2004 Mulberry Square Productions. All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Video

Benji
Movie Memories

Benji Gets a New Baby... Horse

Behind the Scenes
Benji Off the Leash

Parents Speak Out

The Original Benji
Movie Trailer

Benji Off the Leash
Trailer

Movie Clip
Food for the Worms

Movie Clip
Not Now!

Movie Clip
Benji Finally Gets It
!

Finding the Soul of a Horse