Michael Croft

John Michael Croft (8 March 1922 – 15 November 1986) was an English actor, schoolteacher, and writer. Based upon his own experience of supply teaching in tough secondary schools, he wrote the controversial 1954 anti-corporal punishment novel ''Spare the Rod'', which was later released as a film. He founded the National Youth Theatre in 1956 with Kenneth Spring. Since 2017, former students of the National Youth Theatre have come forward with allegations of historic abuse against Croft. Provided by Wikipedia