Ever since “Brokeback Mountain” found its way...

Ever since “Brokeback Mountain” found its way to the screen, the nation’s humor establishment has been working overtime to extract every quip, double-entendre and cheap laugh from the ‘60s-era tale of forbidden love among the sheep. Movie ads parodied it, New Yorker cartoons alluded to it, sketch comedy went wild. (“Go away! Leave us alone. We’re just two lonely monkeys trying to get by,” says one ape, embracing his simian partner as an airplane buzzes by in “Brokeback Kong,” on E! channel’s “The Soup.”) But nobody’s had a more intense love affair with “Brokeback” than the late-night comics:

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Jay Leno

“The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC)

Anybody see “Brokeback Mountain”? It’s a good movie. It is about two cowboys who find themselves in the middle of nowhere looking after some sheep. They fall in love and start having sex with each other. Boy, how relieved were those sheep? The sheep must have been going, “Whew! We really dodged a bullet this time, huh?”

Conan O’Brien

“Late Night With Conan O’Brien” (NBC)

Yesterday, President Bush was asked if he’s seen “Brokeback Mountain” -- and the president said he hadn’t seen the movie but that he’d be happy to talk about ranching. Then he added: “Ranching” still means ‘gay sex,’ right?”

In a new interview, actor Heath Ledger discusses his role in “Brokeback Mountain,” and he says that kissing a man is just like kissing a woman. Actually his exact words were, “Kissing a man is just like kissing a woman, except for much gayer.”

David Letterman

“Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS)

(Top 10 Signs You’re a Gay Cowboy)

10. Your saddle is Versace

9. Instead of ‘Home on the Range’, you sing ‘It’s Raining Men’

8. You enjoy ridin’, ropin’, and redecoratin’

7. Sold your livestock to buy tickets to ‘Mamma Mia!’

6. After watching reruns of ‘Gunsmoke,’ you have to take a cold shower

5. Native Americans refer to you as ‘Dances With Men’

4. You’ve been lassoed more times than most steers

3. You’re wearing chaps, yet your ‘ranch’ is in Chelsea

2. Instead of a saloon you prefer a salon

1. You love riding, but you don’t have a horse

-- Compiled by Barbara A. Serrano