He’s Paid to Find Sitcoms Hilarious

James Alves spends the better part of each day laughing. Employed as a laugher on the TV sitcom “Living in Captivity,” he giggles on cue and snickers at jokes that aren’t that funny--usually more than once. “You have to set aside your logic and just laugh,” he says, his voice dissolving into a riotous medley of guffaws--the “Santa Claus,” the “twitter” and a “hiss.” A part-time extra who’s performed bit parts in student films, the 36-year-old Hesperia resident developed his repertoire by observing people at parties. On the job, Alves estimates he spends 20 minutes of every hour laughing. “It’s hard to do for five or six hours straight,” he says. “That’s why I’m known as the lozenge guy.”