Richard A. Colla attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he studied acting as a member of the renowned Marquette University Players. Although Colla initially pursued an acting career, playing Tony Merritt on the soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1965 to 1966, he quickly transitioned to directing.
Colla's directorial debut was The Soldier, a short film starring a young William Shatner in 1962. He went on to direct episodes of various TV series, including The Legend of Jessie James, Gunsmoke, Judd for the Defense, and others, before directing the feature film Zig Zag in 1970. The twisty mystery starred George Kennedy as a man dying from a brain tumor who frames himself for murder to provide for his family.
Colla received positive reviews for his unique camera angles and cinematic touches, which led Paul Newman to hire him to direct an adaptation of Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion in 1971. However, Colla's counterculture sensibilities and his preference for long takes and extreme long shots clashed with Newman and co-star Henry Fonda, resulting in his dismissal from the project within weeks of production.
Colla's subsequent directing credits included Fuzz in 1972, starring Burt Reynolds, and Olly, Olly, Oxen Free in 1978, featuring Katherine Hepburn. He returned to television, directing pilots that went on to series, such as McCloud in 1970 and Battlestar Galactica in 1978.
Colla's notable work during the 1970s included The Questor Tapes in 1974, a pilot starring Robert Foxworth and Mike Farrell, and The UFO Incident in 1975, a TV movie based on a true story about a married couple who believed they were abducted by extraterrestrials.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Colla continued to work in television, directing episodes of various series, including Miami Vice, Murder, She Wrote, Spenser: For Hire, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as miniseries such as Something is Out There and Zoya.
Colla's final directing credit was Growing Up Brady in 2000, a docudrama based on the memoir written by Barry Williams. He once described his approach to directing as, "I like to keep my options open until the last possible second."
A lifelong environmentalist, Colla owned the 600-acre Matilija Canyon Wildlife Refuge near Ojai and supported the California Forest Improvement Project. He directed and executive produced the educational video Reforestation in 1987, narrated by William Shatner, and appeared in the video as himself.
Colla was married to actress Denise Alexander and passed away on December 24, 2021, at the age of 85 in Beverly Hills, California.
