PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN FACTS AND TRIVIA ABOUT BENJI'S AMAZING CAREER

• Benji is the only American actor who can boast that all three movies bearing his name have finished their year of theatrical release in the top ten-percent of box office grosses for the year. In addition, Benji co-starred in a movie with Chevy Chase and starred in four ABC primetime specials and a Saturday morning series for CBS. In September of 2002, the original Benji movie made People Magaz ine's all-time "Top 20 Must-See Family Movies."

• Benji is the only canine actor to ever have his name placed in contention for an acting Academy Award. ?During the release of the original Benji movie,? says Joe Camp, the pup's creator, ?there were so many critics praising the dog's ability to express emotion on the screen that we thought ?Why not?'? Several ads ran in Daily Variety and Hollywood Reporter suggesting Benji for the acting award, but Camp admits that the floppy-earedd mutt did not even get nominated.

• The original Benji movie (the concept that a dog could express emotion so well on screen that dialog would not be need ed) was conceived in a shower in Plano, Texas.  Years later, Governor Anne Richards of Texas proclaimed BENJI WEEK throughout the state, honoring the Camps and BENJI for all they have contributed to the state. The original Benji was produced in McKinney and Denton, Texas, and distributed worldwide by Camp's company, Mulberry Square Releasing from their offices in Dallas.

• Benji is the only canine actor to ever appear as a centerfold in Playgirl Magazine. When Camp is asked if such an appearance isn't a break from his usual family-friendly philosophy, he says, ?The way we looked at it was that in addition to being ridiculously funny, Benji's centerfold meant one less naked man on the magazine racks. The funniest thing about it is that the dog playing Benji at that time was actually a girl.?

• Benji was the second animal to be inducted into the Animal Actors Hall of Fame. Lassie was the first.

• Benji is the only actor ever to be filmed in a bathtub with Jane Seymour (Oh Heavenly Dog).

• Benji is the only actor to ever refuse to do a scene with Omar Sharif.  Omar's acting style is so intense, director Camp reports, that Benji could ?feel? his intensity and ?freaked out? every time Omar touched him.  This broke Omar's heart and he was afraid the dog hated him which was, of course, not true.  In the end, to get the scenes, Camp wound up putting on Omar's coat and being his ?hands? in the scene.

• In Benji's second movie, For the Love of Benji, Benji was actually played by a girl and Benji's girlfriend Tiffany, was played by a boy.

• Prior to the current Benji, there have been three Benji's to date.  The first was adopted from an animal shelter and starred in the CBS series Petticoat Junction for years before becoming the first Benji. He only did the original Benji film. The second Benji was the daughter of the first and did three movies, four primetime specials and a Saturday morning series. The third Benji did only the book cover for Joe Camp's inspirational book Benji & Me. The fourth, the current Benji, was adopted from a shelter in Gulfport, Mississippi and has completed her first film: Benji Off the Leash!

• Benji was the first dog in history to SCUBA dive (Benji at Marineland).  He kissed a mermaid (puppet) underwater, and once pulled off his diving helmet and swam up about ten feet to the surface.  ?He was simply tired of it all,? reports Camp. That shot did not make the final cut.
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• Benji is the only American actor ever banned from England. The British had a six-month quarantine on dogs in place when Camp wanted to shoot, Oh Heavenly Dog there.  The film had to be shot in Canada and Paris.  ?The river scene at the end of the picture with Benji and a cat is supposed to be the Thames,? reports Camp, ?but is actually the Seine, at that famous spot right across from Notre Dame.?

• Over 71 million people have seen Benji in theaters.

• Most people are amazed to discover that all Benji movies have been produced independently outside the studio system by Mulberry Square Productions, and the first two Benji movies were distributed worldwide by Joe Camp's company Mulberry Square Releasing from their offices in Dallas.

• During the theatrical release of Benji's first two motion pictures, on average, there were actually two adults in the theatre audience for every child.

• More than a billion people have watched Benji on television.

• Two of Benji's primetime specials have been nominated for Emmys.

• Benji's title theme was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe.

• Benji has twice been named the American Guild of Variety Artists' Animal Entertainer of the year.