eter B. Greenough, a journalist and the husband of opera soprano Beverly Sills for nearly a half-century, has died, Sills' manager said Thursday. He was 89. Greenough died Wednesday at a Manhattan hospital after a long illness, manager Edgar Vincent said.

Greenough began his journalism career in 1946 as a reporter for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. He left The Plain Dealer in 1960 to become general business editor at the Boston Herald. He later wrote a financial column for The Boston Globe.

But as Sills' career flourished, he left journalism in 1969 to manage the family's affairs.

Greenough graduated from Harvard University and the Columbia University School of Journalism, then served in the Army during World War II.

The couple married in 1956. Besides Sills, Greenough is survived by two children with her, three from a previous marriage and two grandchildren.

Sills sang for international audiences for more than three decades before retiring from the stage in 1980. She then launched a new career as an executive and leader of New York's performing arts community.

She resigned from the Metropolitan Opera's board last year, citing health and family reasons.