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Distinguished Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka is the creator of the phenomenally popular Astroboy (aka Tetsuwan Atom) in Japan. Tezuka had his first cartoon published in 1946 while he was attending medical school. He began drawing Astroboy in 1951. This became an animated series that was eventually dubbed into English. In 1963, NBC television bought episodes of Astroboy and began airing them. By late 1964, the action series was one of the most popular on television. Despite the success of the cartoon and his other film work, including Alakazam the Great! (1961) and Space Firebird 2772, Tezuka also worked as a physician. Many of his cartoons centered on scientific and medical issues. In the mid-'80s, he made a pair of highly esteemed experimental shorts, Jumping (1984) and Broken-Down Film (1985).