Quiet on Vacation Plan

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Local investment banker Austin Khan was tired of his vacations turning into extended workdays. After a day in Paris, for example, he’d return to his hotel room and turn on the computer – just in time for the start of the workday in Los Angeles.

So this year, Khan, chief investment officer with Century City real estate investment firm Ethika Investments, and his wife, Yanna, decided they were going to truly get away. They booked a week in May at a resort on a remote island in the Maldives Islands chain in the Indian Ocean – where there’s little or no cellphone reception.

They spent the week relaxing and snorkeling, with nary a call from the office or a stray email to bother them.

“It was great!” said the 37-year-old Khan. “I don’t think I could ever live the isolated island lifestyle permanently, but it was great to come back after clearing my mind for a week.”

The Khans had good timing, though. If they had arrived just two months later, they would have found their lovely remote island crawling with reporters. That’s because on a nearby island, pieces of the downed Malaysian jetliner that went missing last year were found, setting off an extensive search across the entire island chain.

Joined by Handle

One man is a comedian and game-show host with an irrational fear of germs. The other is a renowned obstetrician who delivers at Cedars-Sinai. Both are named Howie Mandel.

The latter, Dr. Howie Mandel, said that he first became aware of his comedic counterpart when he moved to West Hollywood from the East Coast about 35 years ago. His address was listed, and he used to get packages intended for the actor, who was ironically then starring on medical drama “St. Elsewhere.”

“I would call his production company,” said Mandel, 59. “They’d tell me to open it up and if it was something valuable, they’d have someone come to pick it up.”

Their most memorable interaction came when actor Howie Mandel’s wife went into labor, and her doctor threw the comic out of the room because his nervous energy was becoming a distraction. But Dr. Mandel came to the rescue.

“It was Sunday, so the bowels of the hospital were closed,” he said. “I took him around for an hour and a half and got him out of his doctor’s hair. He was very thankful, and in return, he ended up inviting my wife and me down to the set of ‘St. Elsewhere.’ So there were two Howie Mandels on set that day.”

Staff reporters Howard Fine and Matt Pressberg contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].

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