Complex sentence: Joe Edward Purcell (July 29 1923--March 1987) was the Democratic acting governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas for six days in 1979 as well as the state's attorney general from 1967-1971 and its lieutenant governor from 1975-1981.
Split into simpler sentences: Joe Edward Purcell (July 29 1923--March 1987) was the Democratic acting governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas for six days in 1979. He was the state's attorney general from 1967-1971 and its lieutenant governor from 1975-1981.